The REAL Sound Nin
by MogtheGnome
Summary: At a young age, Uzumaki Naruto had a chance encounter that would change his life. Now, he is putting what he learned to good use.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If ya recognize it, I don't own it.

"What the fuck is this, West Side Story??"

Shikamaru was not alone with this thought...several people in the audience were confused at what was going on.

It was the first match of the chuunin exam finals, and the spectators were perplexed at what they were seeing.

It appears that, after a brief exchange in words, Uzumaki Naruto had created several bunshin. Most, however, did not expect them to henge into a boom box and a huge sound system, nor did they expect Naruto to insert a CD.

No one recognized the music that had started playing, only recognizing that it was probably a karaoke version, as the music was there, but there were no words.

Then a Kage bunshin henged into a microphone...

That was really when all hell broke loose.

Ino and Sakura couldn't take their eyes off of Naruto...there was just something compelling about him, about the way he moved...and then he started to sing.

"They told him don't you ever come around here  
don't wanna see your face, you better disappear."

Neji had begun to backpedal, definitely not expecting this sort of tactic.

"The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear  
So beat it, just beat it "

You could hear the murmur of the crowd...this was a damn good song! And that kid had a pretty darn good voice.

"You better run, you better do what you can  
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man  
You wanna be tough, better do what you can  
So beat it, but you wanna be bad "

At this point, Naruto Kage bunshined again, and this time, all his Kage bunshins henged into a sort of female back up dance crew. Fortunately, for the sake of keeping half the observers conscious, they were all wearing clothes. And they began to sing.

"Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it  
No one wants to be defeated  
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight  
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right  
Just beat it, beat it  
Just beat it, beat it  
Just beat it, beat it  
Just beat it, beat it "

Now, at this point, Neji was really damn confused. I mean, no dead last could sing this well...that meant they had talent. Fate had predicted that he, Hyuuga Neji, would win a physical fight...but this? How on earth could Neji have prepared for this? But fortunately for him, Naruto decided to help him out.

One of the Kage Back up Dancer Bunshins moved to the side, and in Neji's clear line of site, henged into a teleprompter, as one would find in a Karaoke bar. Using his superb vision, and his all around awesomeness, Neji realized that Naruto was giving him a change to fight back with more fire. So, using his genius talents (and the henged microphone that appeared on the ground nearby him) he launched a counter attack.

"They're out to get you, better leave while you can  
Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man  
You wanna stay alive, better do what you can  
So beat it, just beat it

You have to show them that you're really not scared  
You're playin' with your life, this ain't no truth or dare  
They'll kick you, then they beat you,  
Then they'll tell you it's fair  
So beat it, but you wanna be bad"

Naruto had been playing along with the singing, backpedaling just as Neji had, though keeping up that...grace, that had marked his previous dancing. The back up dancers split into two groups, and in a twist, Neji's dancers henged into female Nejis. Luckily, Neji did not seem to notice.

The audience was really into it at this point. You could hear the squealing girls who were so thankful they had decided to come. I mean, this was better than the last boy band that had come through Konoha...this was fantastic!

Naruto took center stage back away from Neji, and launched an offensive:

"Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it  
No one wants to be defeated  
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight  
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it  
No one wants to be defeated  
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight  
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right"

Up in the Kage box, both Orochimaru and Sandaime were rather stunned. Sarutobi had never realized that Naruto had such a good voice, and he himself would never have thought of utilizing such a...strange tactic as this to fight.

Orochimaru had different feelings. He felt an odd connection to this song, as if whoever wrote this song was really a man of talent….Someone to be admired, if you will. He felt that whoever could write a song and music like this, well, he was talented enough in his field to be counted an equal to Orochimaru...even perhaps a friend.

Neji, however, was not finished. At this point, he had gotten really into the moment. This singing...it felt like the emotional release he had always been looking for, yet could never find. This song encapsulated all his feelings for the main branch, and just singing...felt cathartic. He couldn't even stop this if he wanted to.

So he sang, and fought back:

"Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it  
No one wants to be defeated  
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight  
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right  
Just beat it, beat it  
Beat it, beat it, beat it

Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it  
No one wants to be defeated  
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight  
It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right "

Now, at this point, several girls had removed their tops and thrown them down at the dueling singers, in an effort to get their attention. They really didn't think it could get any better...two good-looking guys, singing so well, fighting it out in a way that didn't leave one bloody and broken. It was awesome.

Temari, at this point, was seriously considering kidnapping Naruto after this...she figured that if any girl around here had to deal with as much stress as she did on a daily basis, they deserved to have their private singer to sing them to sleep every night. Or something like that.

The girls in the audience didn't think it could get better.

They were wrong.

The Bunshin moved forward a bit, cutting their numbers in half to form their own microphones. Naruto maneuvered himself and Neji to the direct center of the arena. Naruto tossed aside his bunshin-phone, and Neji followed.

"Think ya can keep up?"

"Perhaps you are not a dead last, Uzumaki, but you cannot defeat a genius such as me, even in this."

"Well, since you're such a genius, I hope for your sake, you can back up your words."

And with that, Naruto began an assault. Not a direct physical assault, but a...dance that seemed to signify an attack. As the bunshins sung out the chorus, over and over, Naruto's movements mimicked the feeling, punctuated the song. Neji was surprised...he hadn't realized dancing could be...so much like fighting.

But Neji WAS a genius. He could do this, too. So, observing how Naruto moved, he started to move similarly...not identically, mind you, and one could definitely see a distinct...flavor, to his moves, that could be likened to his Jyuuken. It just seemed to flow, with a softer grace than Naruto had.

But as the chorus continued, one could definitely see Neji was becoming hard-pressed to keep up. He was starting to become awfully sweaty, his movements were getting slower, and he was going far more on the defensive. As the bunshin hit the final chorus, Neji staggered, almost as if hit, when Naruto did a particularly empathetic crotch-grab.

It should be also noted that, noticing how low his hand started for that, numerous bras joined the tops in on the stage floor.

And when the song finished, Neji fell to his knees.

"Uzumaki Naruto...I understand. I understand so much now. You, a dead last, can so easily just say 'beat it' to your problems...if you can do so, why cannot I?

"Uzumaki, you have won today...Procter, I give up."

And with that, he started to walk out of the stadium.

Before he made two steps, he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"Neji, after a performance like that, a performer must take a bow...To acknowledge the crowd, as they have acknowledged you. After all, if you do not acknowledge them...why perform in the first place?"

Author Notes: Well, This is my first fic ever. I've been writing snippets of this story over at TFF for a while now, and I figured that I'd start posting it here.

There's quite a bit of back-story that gets discussed throughout the thread that I will be posting in author notes as I go, just putting the actual snippets themselves as the chapters.

But, the most important thing to know is that this Naruto fights, well, a little differently……


	2. Chapter 2

"Naruto, I see you secured the package. Good. Let's get out of here and back home."

"This isn't Naruto...I'm KB-025...boss is still back there. He felt they'd realize if he left a clone behind, but with how the girl is reacting, he's sure he can make it out safely. He recommends that Kiba at least head back with the package, while the rest of you stay behind as an extraction crew if necessary."

What lead to this scene, you wonder?

Well, outside of his own fight, the chuunin exams went as normal. The invasion occurred, Sarutobi died, and Tsunade was retrieved. The Sannin Battle went...differently, but that's a story for a different day.

And Uchiha Sasuke defected, same as normal.

This lead to the Retrieval team being sent, but they decided upon a different plan this time. Instead of an all out assault, Naruto volunteered his own 'talents' to rescue Sasuke.

And here's what happened.

The Sound five were making headway towards the Village of Sound, when they hit a clearing. In that clearing...

"You! It's that guy from the exams! You have the fuckin best voice I've ever fuckin heard!"

"Tayuya, women shouldn't speak like that."

"Shut up, fat ass...wait...what's he doing here?"

Sakon, being rather stupid in the ways of women, interjects here, "Who cares? Let's just kill him and kee-"

He was cut off by two simultaneous events...the obvious one being Tayuya's flute to the face, but the less obvious one was a general dimming of the light.

Naruto, on the fly, decided that if he wanted a real distraction, a slight alteration to the original lyrics would work...

Wearing an immaculate white suit, tie, and hat, Naruto flipped a coin passed the Sound 4. As they turned back to see what he was aiming at, they noticed a juke box that was most definitely NOT there a minute ago.

As the music started, Naruto started strutting on over to Tayuya, with a smirk on his face.

"As He Came Into The Window  
It Was The Sound Of A Crescendo  
He Came Into Her Apartment  
He Left The Bloodstains On The Carpet  
She Ran Underneath The Table  
He Could See She Was Unable  
So She Ran Into The Bedroom  
She Was Struck Down, It Was Her Doom "

Sakon and Ukon both started tapping their feet. Jiroubo began nodding his head. Kidomaru groaned. Tayuya squealed.

And Naruto continued to smirk. But he was coming onto the most important part here...if he could pull this off, then his kage bunshin could easily steal the barrel, and no one would stop 'em.

Naruto had been listening to them talk, and hearing the girl's, Tayuya, name, gave him an idea.

"Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK  
Are You OK, 'yuya  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK  
Are You OK, 'yuya  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK, 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You Ok, Are You Ok, 'yuya?"

As he had begun to sing that verse, Tayuya's eyes grew wide, and her heart was racing. This hunk of a guy was singing, just for her???

A few kage bunshins sprang up and henged into Narutos wearing either white or black suits. They continued to dance, though they did in a circular pattern around Naruto and Tayuya. Unconsciously, the 3 male Sound-nin backed up, and coincidentally, away from the barrel.

All according to plan.

"Tayuya Are You OK?  
Will You Tell Us That You're OK?  
There's A Sign In The Window)  
That He Struck You - A Crescendo 'yuya  
He Came Into Your Apartment  
He Left The Bloodstains On The Carpet  
Then You Ran Into The Bedroom  
You Were Struck Down  
It Was Your Doom"

Many things had just occurred. Naruto had reached Tayuya, and began to dance with her, around her. Jiroubo and Sakon/Ukon were now seriously into the song, and Kidomaru was bored out of his mind. Luckily, he was keeping a watch on Naruto, and not where he should have been.

Sneakily, stealthily, 3 Kage bunshin approached the barrel. One snuck off with the real one, one Henged into a barrel and the last one henged into Sasuke IN the barrel.

To ensure attention was drawn away from his theft, he pulled away from Tayuya, to the other side of the clearing, with his back up crew forming behind him.

All according to plan.

"Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
You've Been Hit By  
You've Been Hit By- A Smooth Criminal"

Ironic, really, as just as he hit 'Smooth Criminal', KB 025 had just gotten beyond the sight line. It also caused Kidomaru to remember their REAL purpose here, and to check on the barrel. Too bad he didn't notice the difference.

At this point, Naruto being walking up to the male ninjas, but with a clearly aggressive stance, which set them on their guard. As he reached Sakon, he stopped, and stepped forward suddenly, causing Sakon to stumble back. He turned towards Jiroubo, while simultaneously ripping a leaf off one of the trees. As Jiroubo tried to look imposing, Naruto just kicked a rock up from off the ground, smack into Jiroubo's face. It didn't hurt much but his pride. The leaf in his hand was grinded up, and casually tossed into Kidomaru's face, who had moved to intercept him.

Then Naruto stopped with the guys, and moved back to where he should have been the whole time. To Tayuya.

All according to plan.

"So They Came Into The Outway  
It Was Sunday - What A Black Day  
Mouth To Mouth Resus - Citation  
Sounding Heartbeats - Intimidations

"Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK  
Are You OK 'yuya?"

The guys didn't take that kind of thing sitting down. Jiroubo and Sakon approached from either side...Naruto never took his eyes off Tayuya. As Jiroubo swung, as if part of his dance, Naruto ducked down and juked to the side. This resulted in Jiroubo punching Sakon in the face. And that caused Sakon to punch Jiroubo back in the face.

Kidomaru then came, approaching with his bow out, ready to shoot Naruto. Just as he got close, Naruto, without even turning around, pointed his arm behind him, and shot a huge flash of light in Kidomaru's eyes. While not actually hurting him, it sure as hell blinded him.

And Naruto kept on walking, walking to Tayuya, who was still practically stunned.

All according to plan.

"Tayuya Are You OK?  
Will You Tell Us That You're OK?  
There's A Sign In The Window  
That He Struck You - A Crescendo 'yuya  
He Came Into Your Apartment  
He Left The Bloodstains On The Carpet  
Then You Ran Into The Bedroom  
You Were Struck Down  
It Was Your Doom

Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
You've Been Hit By  
You've Been Struck By -  
A Smooth Criminal"

Tayuya swooned, right into Narutos arms. He twirled her around, and then set her back.

Naruto flexed his chakra strings.

Jiroubo, Sakon/Ukon, and Kidomaru all stood up, not of their will. You could tell, by how jerky they were moving.

The music stopped. Naruto let off an "Aaow!"

And instead of Naruto singing, it was instead the three Sound boys.

All according to plan.

"Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK?  
Are You OK 'yuya?  
Tayuya Are You OK?  
So, Tayuya Are You OK  
Are You OK 'yuya?"

They weren't really singing, though; more like talking it. Naruto good make 'em move, make 'em speak, but he couldn't make 'em sing.

Taking pity on Tayuya's poor ears, he let them go. As they fell to the floor behind him, Naruto once again stepped forward. The barrel was long gone, and KB 025 had reported back in that Kiba had left for Konoha with it. Sending another hidden Bunshin to tell the others to be ready, because he was nearly done.

And it was all going according to the plan.

"Tayuya Are You OK?  
I Don't Know!  
Will You Tell Us, That You're OK?  
I Don't Know!  
There's A Sign In The Window  
I Don't Know!  
That He Struck You - A Crescendo 'yuya  
I Don't Know!  
He Came Into Your Apartment  
I Don't Know!  
Left Bloodstains On The Carpet  
I Don't Know Why Baby!  
Then You Ran Into The Bedroom  
I Don't Know!  
You Were Struck Down  
It Was Your Doom - 'yuya!  
Tayuya Are You OK?)  
Dad Gone It - Baby!  
Will You Tell Us, That You're OK?  
Dad Gone It - Baby!  
There's A Sign In The Window  
Dad Gone It - Baby!  
That He Struck You - A Crescendo 'yuya  
Hoo! Hoo!  
He Came Into Your Apartment  
Dad Gone It!  
Left Bloodstains On The Carpet  
Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!  
Then You Ran Into The Bedroom  
Dad Gone It!  
You Were Struck Down  
It Was Your Doom-'yuya!""

He was holding Tayuya at this point. He looked her in the eyes, and mouthed to her "Come with me."

She merely nodded.

By now, the Sound boys had stood back up, and were again approaching the REAL Sound nin. However, as the music was fading, the Kage bunshin back up dancers surrounded them, in a rather threatening manner.

Then, Naruto snapped his fingers.

A huge cloud of smoke poofed out, where he had been standing. All the Kage Bunshin then launched an attack on the now Sound Trio. Naruto and Tayuya disappeared in the smoke, reappearing where Neji, Chouji, and Shikamaru were. Shikamaru quirked his eyebrow at Tayuya.

Naruto shrugged.

After all, all had gone according to plan.

Truly, a smooth criminal.

Author's Notes: The chapters aren't in chronological order, as I wrote them as inspiration struck for different scenes. I'm posting them in the order I wrote them.

Naruto, in this story, encountered an eccentric musician in his youth, who was obsessed with music from ancient times. After watching the man attempt to perform a Michael Jackson-esque dance while watching a music video, Naruto proceeded to do a much better job at it. Though Naruto knows other songs that aren't Jackson songs…only the first couple are.

That caused the man to start training Naruto in the ways of music. And he will never be shown in story, either.

The song from the first chapter- "Beat It", Michael Jackson

The song from this chapter- "Smooth Criminal", Michael Jackson


	3. Chapter 3

It was the 7th day.

Naruto, this time, had gone willingly with Jiraiya, with no promise of technique needed. He had, moments before Jiraiya arrived, just escaped from a rather...large fangirl, and was willing to do just about anything to get out of town.

Itachi had shown up, and so had Sasuke.

They had arrived in Tanzuki Gai, and Naruto had impressed upon Tsunade a different dream..."I'm gonna be the most famous Ninja of all time!" Neither Shizune nor Tsunade recognize Naruto, but they both had heard of the amazing performance that occurred in the chuunin exams. They probably just assumed that he meant 'most famous assassin', or 'most feared fighter', or something.

Not quite Hokage, but then, Hokage's can't go on world tours.

Naruto DID fall asleep while training, and WAS brought in by Shizune, though it was not the passed out state it would have been.

And Jiraiya was still poisoned.

This brings us to our scene. Paralyzed by hemaphobia, Tsunade knelt as Kabuto was about to deliver the killing blow...But then the rock music started.

"Turn that noise OFF!" Kabuto wasn't a fan of music, and wasn't quite sure why everyone reacted the way they did in the chuunin exams.

"But it's the best part!" A rather familiar voice, but one Kabuto could not immediately place, called back.

"I don't care, turn that garbage off!"

Seriously, he just didn't understand this whole 'music' thing...he just wanted to kill Tsunade, and then be on his way.

"Fine...then eat THIS!"

The music jumped in volume enormously, seemingly coming from right in front of Kabuto, causing him to stagger back, away from Tsunade.

However, the music immediately changed, from the hard rock beat, to a catchy pop one.

And then Naruto walked out. Merely wearing a white button down, undershirt and a pair of black slacks, and followed by a couple of Kage back up dancers.

Shizune was standing off to the side, watching Naruto stride in, than watching Jiraiya stumble in after him.

The music picked up a bit more, and Naruto walked over to Tsunade, who was still paralyzed, and cupped her chin in his palm.

"I took my baby  
On a Saturday bang  
Boy is that girl with you  
Yes we're one and the same  
now I believe in miracles  
And a miracle  
Has happened tonight".

Jiraiya had stumbled closer, and Orochimaru was moving forward too, but both of them had entirely different reasons. Jiraiya wasn't in his right state of mind, and wasn't exactly sure what Naruto was doing, but he had to make sure he was safe.

Orochimaru...he recognized Naruto immediately. He remembered that...connection, he had felt to Naruto's lyrics, how he felt the genius of the musician. Unconsciously, he moved closer.

Tsunade, however, was still stunned enough to just look up at Naruto, confused.

"But, if  
You're thinkin'  
About my baby  
It don't matter if you're Black or white".

At the last line, he released Tsunade, who slumped back a bit, still very confused at what was going on. Naruto had instead looked over at the other two sannin, now standing next to each other. Black or White, indeed.

"They print my message  
In the Saturday sun  
I had to tell them  
I ain't second to none

And I told about equality  
An it's true  
Either you're wrong  
Or you're right "

The kage back up dancers continued their dance, as Naruto focused more on the words. Indeed, it was clear that he was trying to convey some kind of lesson of morality (his back up dancers had shifted into people with features from several different Elemental nations at this point), but Orochimaru felt that he was still missing it. He knew something was there, was grasping at it, and was disappointed in himself that he still didn't get it.

Jiraiya stumbled forward a bit, away from Orochimaru, and kneeled down next to Tsunade.

And Naruto turned back to Tsunade, smiling warmly at her, affection shining forth practically from every pore in his body.

And he sang

"But, if  
You're thinkin'  
About my baby  
It don't matter if you're  
Black or white."

Turning away from Tsunade and Jiraiya, Naruto looked over at Orochimaru, who was overcoming his confusion. Naruto frowned.

"I am tired of this devil  
I am tired of this stuff  
I am tired of this business  
Sew when the  
Going gets rough  
I ain't scared of  
Your brother  
I ain't scared of no sheets  
I ain't scared of nobody  
Girl when the  
Goin' gets mean"

Tsunade stood up, forgetting her fear. This song...this singer...it was inspiring. It had been years since she had felt like this.

Jiraiya, too, stood up. He knew there was something special about this kid. He KNEW it. If he stuck around him for a while, there'd be so much tail flapping at the kid that Jiraiya would be bound to score.

Shizune stepped forward, concerned for Tsunade. She knew of the phobia, and knew the how's and why's of Tsunade's bitterness. But the expression on Tsunade's face...its been years since she's seen that.

Kabuto stood to the side, wondering why the hell everyone was getting worked up over this song.

And Orochimaru...he stumbled back. Every line was punctuated by Naruto stepping forward. Flames and pyrotechnics appeared in Naruto's wake, and Orochimaru was too lost in the song to see the jutsus causing them. All he saw was this boy-no this man, coming at him as if straight out of hell.

And then Naruto stopped, and one of his backup singers, henged into a young boy, started singing, as Naruto turned back towards Tsunade, smiling at her once more.

And the kage bunshin child sang, in a surprisingly deep voice.

"Protection  
For gangs, clubs,  
And nations  
Causing grief in  
Human relations  
It's a turf war  
On a global scale  
I'd rather hear both sides  
Of the tale  
See, it's not about races  
Just places  
Faces  
Where your blood  
Comes from  
Is where your space is  
I've seen the bright  
Get duller  
I'm not going to spend  
My life being a color"

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru had been raised in war. They had lived in war. And chances are, they would die in war. The words this young boy sang took them to a place where everyone was equal...such a place could not exist to them. But Tsunade began to feel that it damn well should. And perhaps she could help it.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, reacted exactly opposite to these lines. Instead of being inspired, he was disgusted. Equality for all? Blood doesn't matter? Feh, there will always be geniuses, and there will always be fools. Why couldn't this wonderful singer see that??

And Jiraiya was crying tears of joy as he saw Tsunade's reaction. As was Shizune. Both for entirely different reasons.

And Kabuto was still confused.

The Kage bunshin boy stepped back into the back up dancers, and joined their rather ethnically diverse troupe. Naruto looked over at Orochimaru.

"Don't tell me you agree  
With me  
When I saw you  
Kicking dirt in my eye"

Naruto looked over at Shizune.

"But, if  
You're thinkin'  
About my baby  
It don't matter if you're  
Black or white"

And Naruto looked into Tsunade's eyes.

"I said if  
You're thinkin' of  
Being my baby  
It don't matter if you're  
Black or white"

Naruto looked over at Jiraiya, seeing his reaction to, well, Tsunade's reaction. Naruto smirked, realizing what Jiraiya was probably thinking. And this Naruto, well, he was a bit more...liberated than the normal Naruto. So he looked at Jiraiya.

"I said if  
You're thinkin' of  
Being my brother  
It don't matter if you're  
Black or white"

Naruto looked back at Tsunade, who was still staring at him. Naruto smiled that smile, that lady-killer smile, and again reached out to Tsunade's face, and brushed her cheek with his hand. As he did so, he took a step back. Tsunade stepped forward with him. And Naruto sang.

"Ooh, ooh  
Yea, yea, yea now  
Ooh, ooh  
Yea, yea, yea now

It's black, it's white  
It's tough for you to get by  
It's black , it's white, whoo

It's black, it's white  
It's tough for you to get by  
It's black , it's white, whoo "

And the song faded away.

And Naruto looked over at Orochimaru. Orochimaru looked back. What he saw was a united front of two Sannin, a Sannin's apprentice, and the most talented boy he had ever seen. And Orochimaru spoke.

"One day, Uzumaki Naruto...I will figure out why I feel so drawn to your music. I will figure out what it is about the lyrics that I relate to so much, how I get so drawn into it. But for now...Kabuto! Come! We leave!"

And with a disgruntled face from Kabuto, they both sank into the ground, making their escape.

Naruto looked at Tsunade, and smiled.

"Tsunade-hime, will you come back with us?"

And Tsunade smiled.

Author's Notes: And that's the last of the original three snippets of this fic, and the last Michael Jackson one that I can remember. It gets much more eclectic after this.


	4. Chapter 4

After their incredible performance, and their bow, Neji and Naruto exited the arena.

This time, Neji didn't need to go to the medics. Instead, Hiashi intercepted him in a hallway, and explained the past to him much quicker. This resulted in Neji rejoining the other rookies up in the audience.

The other fights went the same. Kankurou quit, Shikamaru gave up, and Gaara went psycho. The invasion started, and Sasuke gave chase to Gaara. But this time, something different happened.

Instead of just Shikamaru, Sakura, and Naruto running off, Neji went with them. Shikamaru again stayed behind to lay an ambush. Shino again appeared to fight off Kankurou. But then Naruto began to prepare for the fight, the performance he knew was coming.

And this time, he was going to do it a little differently.

After all, Gaara didn't seem the type to be susceptible to his usual tunes. He didn't seem the type to understand the true talent of the historical King of Pop. Ever since the hospital incident, Naruto realized he would have to utilize a different method to reach and defeat Gaara. So, he prepared a different song, and, like all his music, carried a copy of the lyrics on him. Naruto looked over at Neji, and spoke.

"Neji, how good are you at memorization?"

"Uzumaki, I'm good at everything. Are you saying you have a plan to deal with Gaara?"

"Just learn this as we run...I think you'll appreciate it, too."

Because truly, this song was perfect for the two of them.

And so Sakura, Naruto, and Neji came upon Gaara kicking the crap out of Sasuke, with Temari looking on.

Gaara noticed their arrival. He noticed Naruto gathering chakra. He became weary of the 30 odd clones that Naruto formed. And he was confused when the light in the wooded area darkened, and soft piano music started.

Then a harder beat sounded, and Naruto and Neji strode out, side by side, into the clearing.

This time, Naruto wasn't alone as he sang. This time, Neji sang with him.

"I guess  
That this is where we've come to  
If you don't want to  
Then you don't have to believe me  
But I won't be there when you go down  
Just so you know now  
You're on your own now believe me"

Gaara was taken aback...he knew he'd seen this Uzumaki boy fight with song instead of fists, but he really hadn't expected the guy to try it on him. After all, he was far too dangerous of an opponent to just sing at and hope he didn't attack. 

And so Gaara gathered his sand around him, and was preparing to launch an attack. But then Naruto stepped forward, and began speaking again. This time, it wasn't singing...he had never really heard music like this before. To be fair, no one had, as rap had died out centuries before. But there was something...catchy, about the way Naruto was talking.

"I don't want to be the one to blame  
You like fun and games  
Keep playing em  
I'm just saying  
Think back then  
We was like one and the same  
On the right track  
But I was on the wrong train  
Just like that  
Now you've got a face to pain  
And the devil's got a fresh new place to play  
In your brain like a maze you can never escape the rain  
Every damn day is the same shade of grey"

Gaara was able to ignore the music, but he wasn't able to ignore the words. He thought back to when Naruto and he had met in the Hospital, when he had sought to kill the eyebrow guy. He had heard Naruto say "You're...just like me," but he hadn't believed it. But the sheer emotion of what Naruto was saying and how he was saying it...Gaara's sand, while not quite falling, stopped reaching out towards the Leaf-nin.

And then, to Gaara's surprise, Naruto turned around, and switched places with Neji. Neji had proven that he was able to sing, and he was a quick learner. He picked up rapping as quickly as he picked anything else up, and was able to follow Naruto's lead. In this case, Neji felt even more comfortable with the lyrics than he had with the first song he and Naruto had sung. Before, it was just about generally telling problems to fuck off...This time, he was able to convey his own personal emotions even more.

"Hey  
I used have a little bit of a plan  
Used to  
Have a concept of where I stand  
But that concept slipped right out of my hands  
Now I don't really even know who I am  
Yo, what do I have to say  
Maybe I should do what I have to do to break free  
What ever happens to you, we'll see  
But it's not gonna happen with me"

Gaara had heard what Neji had said during the Prelims. While it wasn't as harsh as he might have, it wasn't exactly nice. After all, it comes as no shock that since Naruto grew up...differently, that the girl who used him as inspiration would grow to be different, too. But Gaara had still understood that Neji's life was pretty crappy, and that he had some sort of enslavement seal on him. Gaara could relate. And that was the moment Gaara had lost. 

One of the best standards for judging good music is how well the audience can relate to the emotions of the song. Whole genre's of music capitalized on this, and generally, the songs that one could relate to are the songs that one likes the best. In this case, Gaara had begun to relate too much to the song.

And Naruto and Neji began the chorus.

"I guess  
That this is where we've come to  
If you don't want to  
Then you don't have to believe me  
But I won't be there when you go down  
Just so you know now  
You're on your own now believe me"

While singing the Chorus, Neji walked over to Sasuke and pulled him up from where he had been laying, watching, and brought him over to where Sakura was standing. Naruto walked over to where Temari was, and reached out to her.

Temari, enthralled once more by the blonde boy's music, took his hand. Naruto pulled her into a one armed hug, and walked her over to where Sakura and Sasuke where, and left her there. When the chorus ended, Neji and Naruto were once more in front of Gaara.

Naruto again stepped to the front.

"Back then, I thought you were just like me  
Somebody who could see all the pain I see  
But you proved to me unintentionally  
That you would self-destruct eventually  
Now I'm thinking like the mistake I made doesn't hurt  
But it's not gonna work  
Cause it's really much worse than I thought  
I wished you were something that you were not  
And now this guilt is really all that I got"

If Gaara could relate before, these lines completely defeated him. He began reflecting a little on his life, and wondering why exactly he was who he was. He still had supreme self confidence in his ability to kill anyone, but perhaps there was more to fighting, and more to living, then just crushing people in sand.

Temari noted the differences in this performance from the last. The last one, Naruto had focused a lot of time on dancing, and had actually turned the match into a challenge, a fight.

This time around, there was no fight. It was more like a speech, an inspirational, motivational speech. There was little dancing, but a lot of hand gestures to emphasize his points. There was even some physical interaction between Neji and Naruto, limited to a couple high 5's and back slaps. But that was all.

Where as before, the song had been focused more on dancing and the competition, this one focused on the message, the point of the song.

And Neji stepped forward as Naruto stepped back.

"You turned your back  
And walked away in shame  
All you got is a memory of pain  
Nothing makes sense so you stare at the ground  
I hear your voice in my head when no one else is around  
What do I have to say  
Maybe I should do what I have to do to break free  
What ever happens to you, we'll see  
But it's not gonna happen with me"

And Gaara remembered why he became an avatar of death; because of his own past pain, and because of the voice of the Shukaku in his head. He remembers thinking as a child, 'why am I treated so differently? Why does no one like me'? About how little sense his life had always made.

But could he break free? Neji's words were making clear to him that it didn't have to be that way. If this Hyuuga boy could grow past the point of needing revenge for the caged bird seal, perhaps Gaara could move past his.

And the chorus was sung once more.

"I guess  
That this is where we've come to  
If you don't want to  
Then you don't have to believe me  
But I won't be there when you go down  
Just so you know now  
You're on your own now believe me"

Gaara had begun to believe. He had become too caught up in the song, and was nodding a long with the music. The Shukaku transformation had fallen apart, and Gaara was standing amidst a pile of sand.

Could these others really understand his pain? 

Gaara thought this during a brief instrumental solo, and then the thoughts were reinforced with a final repetition of the chorus.

"I guess  
That this is where we've come to  
If you don't want to  
Then you don't have to believe me  
But I won't be there when you go down  
Just so you know now  
You're on your own now believe me"

Neji and Naruto began to walk towards Gaara.

The last chorus had not been sung by them. This time, Naruto's Kage Chorus had come out from the trees, standing in a half circle behind the 3 spectators to the event.

During the chorus, as they had walked closer, Naruto and Neji interspersed their own lyrics in the chorus.

"Do what I have to do  
You're on your own now believe me

What ever happens to you  
You're on your own now believe me

What do I have to say  
You're on your own now believe me

It's not gonna happen with me  
You're on your own now believe me"

And then the music died off, and stopped.

"Gaara...you aren't the only one with a horrible burden around here. You aren't alone."

As Naruto said this, he flashed some demonic chakra. Neji turned towards him, giving him a weird look, but he was the only one who even noticed what had happened, aside from Gaara.

Until now, Gaara had thought that Neji was the one who understood him. But he could feel the chakra that the Uzumaki boy let off. He recognized it, so similar to his own.

And the song made even more sense, now.

The sand had completely receded into his gourd.

Gaara looked over at Temari, and a newly arrived Kankurou.

"Come...we leave."

And without turning around, Gaara walked away.

Kankurou was confused...he had just got here, what on earth had he missed? It was clear no fight had occurred amongst those standing, but why on earth would Gaara voluntarily surrender like this?

Temari was disappointed. As she walked away, she turned back around, winked at Naruto, and blew him a kiss.

Then the three Sand ninjas took the trees, going in the opposite direction of Konoha.

Sakura was once again in awe. The finals fight between these two had been so intense, and now they worked together with such ease? And made such, well, maybe not beautiful, but heartfelt music? THIS was her 'dead last' teammate? Maybe she shouldn't have turned him down so many times when they were younger...

Sasuke was fuming. He had been defeated with ease by Gaara, than Naruto comes along and just sings him away? Where the heck did Naruto get so good at singing, anyway?? None of this made any sense, and he refused to let the lyrics get to him, no matter how much he felt he could relate. He wasn't some pansy like Gaara, to be defeated with mere music.

And Naruto and Neji turned and looked at each other.

"Do you truly understand now, Neji?"

"...That worked far better than I could ever have imagined. I went along with it at first, because I felt I owed you for our fight...but when I read the lyrics...it seems so obvious."

The invasion was over, the tide was turned. Old Man Sarutobi had died, Orochimaru's arms had lost their soul, and Konoha had repelled the invasion.

But probably one of the most important events in history went almost unnoticed, out in Konoha's woods.

Author's Notes: Last song- "Black or White" by Michael Jackson

This song- "Believe Me", by Fort Minor.

Dedicated to Fosfor, and done at his request.

If ya haven't ever heard of the song, look it up on youtube. Just read the lyrics..it makes so much sense for Neji and Naruto.

Anyway, Naruto was trained as a singer and dancer by his sensei, and thus fell behind (and to dead last) in the academy because he just didn't care. He got his acknowledgement elsewhere.

Though when he did end up graduating (the same way he did in canon), he realized that he was a ninja for good, and needed someway to survive and compete.


	5. Chapter 5

This performance was an impromptu one, and an embarrassing one at that. Its 6 years in the future, and Konohamaru had made a grave error in judgment. Luckily, he knew the MAN to talk to with these kinds of problems...he shoulda realized how it would turn out, considering his friend's habits, and his own...

After all, Konohamaru had to beat his boss in his own game, so he too had been training his voice these last few years. They often sang together now, so what happened...well, it wasn't that big of a surprise.

So Konohamaru walked over to Naruto's place, a fairly snazzy place in one of the richer, and more populous, areas of Konoha. And he knocks on his door.

Luckily, Naruto was in.

"Yo Man," Konohamaru called into the house

"Yo!" Came Naruto's call from inside the place.

"Open up, man!"

"What you want, man?"

"My girl just caught me!"

"You let her catch you?"

For the last few years, Konohamaru had been wooing the younger Hyuuga, Hyuuga Hanabi. She was a lovely young woman at 13, her body already promising that she would possess the Hyuuga bloodline limit stronger than even her older sister did.

"I don't know how I let this happen!"

"With who?"

"The girl next door, you know."

"Man..."  
Indeed, there could only ever be one girl who Konohamaru could ever think of as 'The Girl Next Door'. Moegi. She'd been there his whole life, and as time went on, it was clear she had a crush on him. She'd always been so disappointed that he started making the moves on Hanabi, but she was determined to win him for herself.

Hanabi's and Konohamaru's relationship had always been kept on the hush hush side (because Neji makes a REALLY effective older brother figure. And Udon had always been on Konohamaru's side here, distracting Moegi away whenever Konohamaru had needed to make a quick escape. Udon was never really any competition for either of his ladies, either, as he had a thing for older women...Sakura could never really get away from being harassed by annoying kids for dates, but at least she could laugh about it now.

"I don't know what to do!"

"Say it wasn't you."

"Alright."

And the door opened, with a half dressed Naruto in the doorway. Walking out from behind him was a rather satisfied looking Temari, who left the house as Konohamaru came in, winking at the kid and blowing a kiss to Naruto.

Things around Naruto usually devolved into songs a lot, because Naruto himself usually had some sort of music playing. Whether it was an actual CD setup, a Kage Bunshin turned into one, or one of his sound based jutsus that create music, something was usually going on.

And with Konohamaru being as musically inclined as he has become...this lead to lots of free-stylin' between the two. This was just one of those cases. Ironic, really, that they are entirely on accident recreating a song from the past. It's like they say...Monkeys with Typewriters, and whatnot.

"Hanabi came in and she caught me red-handed  
Creeping with the girl next door  
Picture this, we were both caught makin' out on the bathroom floor

How could I forget that I had  
Given her an extra key  
All this time she was standing there  
She never took her eyes off me"

Seriously, the Byakugan was cheating. How could you get away with anything when you got a lady who has that? But Moegi had been so persistent, and really, she was developing nicely, too. Not quite the "sexiest Kunoichi" that she always called herself when they played around when they were younger, but she was gettin there. Who could blame Konohamaru?

"How you can grant the woman access to your villa  
Trespasser and a witness while you cling to your pillow  
You better watch your back before she turn into a killer  
Best for you and the situation not to call the beaner  
To be a true player you have to know how to play  
If she say a night, convince her say a day  
Never admit to a word when she say makes a claim  
And you tell her baby no way"

Seriously, this was Konohamaru's own fault in some ways. Naruto had told him to never even bring up the idea of giving Hanabi her own key. Old Man Hokage had had a big house, and he left it all to Konohamaru. With the sheer amount of rooms in the place, it was entirely unlikely that Hanabi would have ever got him from just scanning outside with the Byakugan...there was too much stuff.

Naruto had never really had any problem like this. His girls knew he had others; he never tried to hide it. Really, he turned the situation to his own advantage, and just pursued 'em all. He was, after all, a true player.

But now they were gettin really into it. Konohamaru didn't have the reserves Naruto did, but he had enough to make 3 Kage Bunshins if all they were good for were backup singers. He could make more, but that drained him too much.

And so the music in the room picked up, and Konohamaru sang with his backup singers.

"But she caught me on the counter (It wasn't me)  
Saw me neckin' on the sofa (It wasn't me)  
We even took a shower (It wasn't me)  
She even caught me on camera (It wasn't me)

She saw the marks on my shoulder (It wasn't me)  
Heard the words that I told her (It wasn't me)  
Heard the moans get louder (It wasn't me)  
She stayed until it was over"

Well, Naruto could understand that maybe Konohamaru just wasn't paying enough attention to his surroundings to notice Hanabi, and he could accept the sign that it was of giving Hanabi a key. But to let Moegi leave love marks?? To not notice pictures??? Seriously, these were stupid mistakes. Naruto was a little pissed at Konohamaru's idiocy here.

But this was still salvageable.

And Konohamaru sang again.

"Hanabi came in and she caught me red-handed  
Creeping with the girl next door  
Picture this, we were both caught makin' out on the bathroom floor

I had tried to keep her  
From what she was about to see  
Why should she believe me  
When I told her it wasn't me

Getting into the moment, Naruto stood up, and Konohamaru followed. They walked out of the house, and Naruto continued singing. This wasn't that uncommon, and the neighbors loved it when he did...it was like getting a free show.

"Make sure she knows it's not you and lead her on the right prefix  
Whenever you should see her make the gigolo flex  
As funny as it be by you, it not that complex  
Seeing is believing so you better change your specs  
You know she not gonna be worrying bout things from the past  
Hardly recollecting and then she'll go to noontime mass  
Wait for your answer: go over there  
But if she pack a knife you know you better run fast"

While Naruto was singing, Konohamaru had realized they were attracting an audience. He suddenly got really nervous, because they were pretty much airing his problems to the world via song. He looked over at Naruto, and was about to say something, anything, to get the song to stop. But the grin on Naruto's face stopped him...The music was still playing, and it looked like Naruto had a plan to work this out.

And so Konohamaru's Kage Chorus and he sang again.

"But she caught me on the counter (It wasn't me)  
Saw me neckin' on the sofa (It wasn't me)  
We even took a shower (It wasn't me)  
She even caught me on camera (It wasn't me)

She saw the marks on my shoulder (It wasn't me)  
Heard the words that I told her (It wasn't me)  
Heard the moans get louder (It wasn't me)  
She stayed until it was over"

And the crowd grew larger, thinking that these two had written a new, if strange, duet. Konohamaru had planned on changing the words around, to take out Hanabi's name, but as he started to say "Honey", Naruto smacked him lightly on the back, causing him to stumble, and restart the line. Apparently Naruto liked the verse as it was.

"Hanabi came in and she caught me red-handed  
Creeping with the girl next door  
Picture this, we were both caught makin' out on the bathroom floor

How could I forget that I had  
Given her an extra key  
All this time she was standing there  
She never took her eyes off me"

Naruto had learned that people paid less attention to the actual words of a song, and more to the meaning, unless the words were very important to 'em. In this case, no one had really noticed that Konohamaru had used the name Hanabi...except, of course, two girls who had joined the crowd, and were making their way to the front.

And Konohamaru continued.

"Gonna tell her that I'm sorry  
For the pain that I've caused  
I've been listening to your reasoning  
It makes no sense at all  
We should tell her that I'm sorry  
For the pain that I've caused  
You may think that you're a player  
But you're completely lost  
That's why I sing"

As he sang this part, Hanabi and Moegi had pushed their way to the front, but hadn't spotted each other. Naruto saw both of them, and Konohamaru had seen neither. While pissed off at Konohamaru, this last verse made her rethink it a bit. It seems like he was rejecting Naruto's philosophies on women, and that he was regretting his decision. That's what she wanted, even if she thought he should suffer more. A lot more.

Moegi was also upset with Konohamaru, as she too had realized that Konohamaru had been acting the way he did because he was also dating Hanabi. Sure, Moegi came on strong, but she thought Konohamaru liked her, too. After all, they were still kids, and no one was doin anything they really shouldn't...not yet. And Moegi wanted to make sure she was the one that Konohamaru did that stuff with.

It was probably at this point that Moegi and Hanabi spotted each other, and began moving in to kick some ass. As they reached each other, though, Naruto stepped in between them. Konohamaru was still singing.

"Hanabi came in and she caught me red-handed  
Creeping with the girl next door  
Picture this, we were both caught makin' out on the bathroom floor"

Naruto took hold of each of the girls hands, and walked them over to where Konohamaru was. He had finally noticed who exactly was present. That was something Naruto was gonna have to work him on, if he couldn't even detect presences when they didn't try to hide em.

"How could I forget that I had  
Given her an extra key  
All this time she was standing there  
She never took her eyes off me"

As Konohamaru smiled nervously at both the girls, Naruto gave them both a little shove, straight into Konohamaru's arms. The two girls glared at each other, but Konohamaru, getting the hint from Naruto, just tightened his grip, bringing their attention back to him. He smiled.

The music died off, and the crowd roared their approval. Even if he was once the village pariah, Naruto was now pretty much the biggest thing in the Elemental Countries, and people treated him immeasurably better.

But this song wasn't for the village...it was for the newest...couple?...in Konoha.

And only they really understood what this song was about, and why it was only performed on special occasions, and only with Naruto and Konohamaru.

Author's Notes: This song- "It Wasn't Me", by Shaggy.

This one was just a look into the future, and is pretty much the only one of its type. It came about from a comment that "This song would fit, seeing as it seems to be turning into a harem fic". The person had meant that Naruto would probably be having the problems…but it just struck me as hilarious if Konohamaru was coming to Naruto on this sort of problem, because Naruto is such an 'expert'.

Anyway, Naruto and his sensei decided to fight in a way that utilizes his talents (and probably inadvertently created family jutsu similar to the Yamanaka or Akimichi). Unfortunately, Naruto has to get to a certain skill level with it before it can be effective.


	6. Chapter 6

After Naruto finished his business up with Tsunami, he had to run off to the bridge.

Normally, Naruto would have arrived a few minutes earlier...those few late minutes changed the Battle of the Bridge immeasurably.

When Naruto entered Haku's Ice Prison, Sasuke was all but beaten. He had managed to activate his Sharingan, but he had just been knocked unconscious, and not put into a near death state. Sasuke had, however, managed to break off her mask in the fight.

When Naruto saw this, he didn't enter into a berserk state. He didn't access the Kyuubi.

No, he saw this as the first practical opportunity to test his new style in actual combat.

And it didn't hurt the way Haku had reacted to his initial flirting.

Oh, sure, she TRIED to claim to be a boy, but Naruto didn't believe her. He had immediately called BS, and then worked some of his...magic...before she had fled. But that's a story for a later day.

No, Naruto decided that maybe Ice Prisons would have good acoustics.

Haku, thinking back to how Naruto sang to her last time, immediately told him to just leave, that she didn't want to kill him. She said, "I don't want to have to kill my heart and become a real shinobi, but I will if I have to."

Naruto just smirked.

When he Kage Bunshin-ed, and the henged his clones into sound equipment, Haku began to blush, remembering his earlier music.

And then the music picked up.

"Haaaaaku! You don't have to put on that Mask tonight  
Those days are over, you don't have to sell your body to the night!  
Haaaaaaku! You don't have to work for criminals tonight  
Killin folks for money  
You don't care if it's wrong or if its right!"

'Shit, shit, shit...what the hell do I do?? Nothing Zabuza has ever taught me had to do with guys coming on to me??'

Indeed, Haku had never really dealt with 'interested men' before...she mainly hid her gender because most of the men she had grown up around had no problems with rape. At least Zabuza was smart enough to keep her away from the ones that had no problems with little boys.

But still, this was flattering...a handsome young man singing a song just for her...Haku's inner fangirl, which had never really been given a chance to live before, was beginning its power play to at least have some say in how Haku thought and lived.

"Haaaku, you don't have to put on the white mask  
Haaaaaku, you don't have to put on the white mask  
Put on the white mask, put on the white mask  
Put on the white mask, put on the white mask  
Put on the white mask, oh"

'Heh, she's definitely falling for it...Sensei was right, women love a man who can sing.'

Naruto's plans were working. Apparently in the old days everyone sang...there was the King, the Queen, and the Police just offhand who he could remember that sang. 'Seriously,' Naruto wondered, 'Why does it seem like everyone stopped singing?'

But for now, he had a hottie to catch.

So he stepped forward. The space was too limited in the ice prison for Haku to go anywhere, and she wasn't really thinking clearly enough to actually go INTO the ice. It was like a predator stalking his prey, except the prey was rather quickly losing her desire to flee.

"I loved you since I knew ya  
I wouldn't talk down to ya  
I have to tell you just how I feel  
I won't share you with another boy  
I know my mind is made up  
So put away your senbon  
Told you once I won't tell you again it's a bad way"

Naruto reached out. Haku stepped forward. Naruto brushed his hand over Haku's cheek, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 'Heh...If Sakura could see me now...she would regret having tossed away her chance with me. But no matter...Haku here seems to be once, twice, hell three times the lady that Sakura will ever be.'

So Naruto finished up. The music was hitting its climax. Haku had forgotten about the fight outside. In point of fact, Gatoh had just shown up, and since Kakashi and Zabuza had never felt the Kyuubi's chakra, they never had the urge to end the fight immediately. So both of them were in pretty good working order, and were tearing apart the mercenaries. Gatoh wouldn't be long himself.

But the more important story was happening inside the dome of ice.

""Haaaku, you don't have to put on the white mask  
Haaaaaku, you don't have to put on the white mask  
Put on the white mask, put on the white mask  
Put on the white mask, put on the white mask  
Put on the white mask"

As the Kage bunshin chorus picked up on the fading chorus, keeping the music playing softly in the background, Naruto leaned in to kiss her. It was brief, and passionate, and scared the crap out of Haku. She immediately jumped back, and this time, she went into the Ice.

'Damn it! So close!" Oddly enough, both of them thought that, and Haku was cursing her own shyness here. This was too new to her, and she just couldn't deal with it.

Of course, before she did, Zabuza called out to her.

"Hey, Haku! We're done here...Gatoh was a waste. We're heading out."

And with that, the dome retracted itself, seemingly into the ground. Haku appeared next to Zabuza.

"Must we leave right away?"

"Yeah...gotta get some money somewhere."

"Oi, Haku! I'll find ya again, someday! You got my word on it!"

Haku smiled. Zabuza looked confused. Kakashi thought Naruto was talking about kicking 'his' ass.

And with that, the mist missing nin left.

'So goddamn close! Ah, well...next time, next time.'

Author's Notes: This song-"Roxanne", by The Police.

This was Naruto's first field attempt at song fighting. He only really tried it due to an earlier…encounter with Haku in the woods, or otherwise he would have fought normally. The reason being that he hadn't quite worked out all the kinks in how he would go about fighting, and his sensei hadn't given him the go-ahead yet (which occurs right before the chuunin exam finals, where his fight with Neji is where he reveals his skills to the world).


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto is 10.

He has been studying with his sensei for a good two years now.

He wasn't anywhere near ready to showcase his skills, but he always enjoyed just hanging out by himself, and singing. Sing about anything nearby, to hone his skills at applying known songs to new situations. Improvisation is a key skill for any entertainer, and Naruto was planning on being the best damn entertainer in the world...so good that he would be able to defeat foes with mere song and dance.

But he was a long way away from that.

Now, though, he was sitting up in a tree. It was a decently tall tree, and with the lush foliage, nobody would see him unless they were stalking him with the Byakugan.

'And really, what Hyuuga would bother spying on ME?'

Ironic, really.

But that's not what we're here about.

For indeed, Naruto was watching a common occurrence from his tree.

He was watching Uchiha Sasuke brood. And turn away fangirls left and right.

'Good god, doesn't he see how good he has it? I wish they came after me so easily...'

But this reminded Naruto of a song he had just learned, and he began to sing, a capella.

"She's a good girl, loves her mama  
Loves Jesus, and America too  
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis  
Loves horses, and her boyfriend too"

Naruto didn't know what most of those things were...he knew Elvis was a rival king to the King of Pop, and he knew America was a place...but Jesus? Lots of songs mentioned him, but never really explained who he was.

Haruno Sakura approached Sasuke, nervously. This inspired Naruto, and he sang that last verse, over.

"She's a good girl, loves her mama  
Loves Jesus, and Konoha too  
She's a good girl, crazy bout Elvis  
Loves flowers, and Sasuke too"

And, as always, he saw Sasuke turn her down. He saw Sakura turn away, dejected.

"And it's a long day livin' in the forest  
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard  
And he's a bad boy, 'cause he don't even miss her  
He's a bad boy for breakin' her heart"

Naruto leaned back...he always liked the chorus to this song. It felt so relaxed, so much like those clouds that Shikamaru always grumbled about.

"And I'm free, free fallin'  
Yeah, I'm free, free fallin'"

Sakura had walked away, around a corner from where Sasuke was hanging out. Slumped down, rejected, just looking so sad. Naruto was still in his Sakura phase, though it was toned down, and this just struck a chord with him.

'He aint worth it, girl! Why??? Why do this?'

And so Naruto sang.

"All the emos walkin' through the Forest  
Move west down by Ichiraku's  
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows  
And the good girls are home with broken hearts"

And then Sakura got up. She got that determined look upon her face, and muttered something to herself. Probably something to the effect of 'I'm not losing to that Ino-pig'. Sighing, realizing he'd probably have to do a LOT to get Sakura to even look at him...Naruto sang.

"And I'm free, free fallin'  
Yeah, I'm free, free fallin  
Free fallin', I'm a-free fallin', I'm a  
Free fallin', I'm a-free fallin', I'm a"

Sakura marched off, not towards Sasuke, but probably off to study or something. It was her way of trying to show her worth, by making herself valuable in ways that Sasuke did not. Probably in an effort to make herself useful to him...not realizing that, no matter what she did, it would never be enough.

At least her determination was impressive.

"I wanna glide down over the Monument  
I wanna write her name in the sky  
I'm gonna free fall out into nothin'  
Gonna leave this world for a while"

Sasuke, too, got up. He headed off; probably back to his house, or to the training grounds. Frankly, Naruto was surprised that he had hung out in public for this long...probably needed some positive reinforcement, or something.

"And I'm free  
Free fallin', I'm a-free fallin', I'm a  
Free fallin'  
Free fallin', I'm a-free fallin', I'm a  
Yeah, I'm free  
Free fallin', I'm a-free fallin', I'm a  
Free fallin'  
Free fallin', I'm a-free fallin', I'm a"

Naruto faded himself out...one day, he swore to himself, 'people will look at me the same way they look at Sasuke. And not just because of my heritage, or some bloodline...they'll see me for my own talent, and acknowledge my worth.'

'But until then', Naruto thought, 'I'll be free, free fallin'...

Author's Notes: This Song- "Free Falling" by Tom Petty.

An introspective piece, quite a bit different then most of the other songs he sings.

Any and all reviews are welcome : D.


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto, after his stunning defeat (or something like that) of Orochimaru and Kabuto, returned to Konoha with the new Hokage.

Sasuke had been waiting for this, stewing in Itachi's words...he refused to be weak, damnit, especially not weaker than Naruto. Somehow Naruto had defeated Hyuuga Neji with ease (he never could get the exact story of what happened), and he comes waltzing in and just SINGS at Gaara and gets him to stop.

Well, Sasuke was no singer. He was a goddamn fighter. And he would kick the ever living crap out of Naruto for even unintentionally making Sasuke doubt himself.

So, Naruto arrived back in Konoha. Sasuke showed up, and challenged him to a fight. Unfortunately for Sasuke, he chose a rather visible location...the top of the hospital.

So, Naruto humored Sasuke, and agreed to the fight.

However, Naruto had been planning for such an event, having the desire to show up the Uchiha. And what luck that Sasuke wanted to fight in a place where EVERYONE was going to hear it.

They stood facing each other, on the roof. "Are you sure you want to do this, Sasuke?"

"Doe, I'm going to put you in your place once and for all!"

"Oh, sure, if I lose, you're supremely victorious, but if you lose, you get to come back and fight me again next week? Man, whatever. Kage Bunshin!"

And with that, Naruto summoned up his clones. Sasuke jumped back, and began one of his Uchiha Fire Jutsu ™. He had not, however, expected for music to begin playing.

The Kage bunshin, for the most part, formed up into an almost audience, surrounding the two fighters.

Stomp Stomp Clap. Stomp Stomp Clap.

"Buddy you're a boy make a big noise  
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day  
You got mud on yo' face  
You big disgrace  
Kickin' your can all over the place"

There were, however, a few bunshin, along with Naruto, who stayed in the makeshift arena. Sasuke launched himself, Sharingan twirling, at the real, singing Naruto. But every time he did, a new Naruto would pop up and get in his way. Sasuke, in his rage, didn't even notice the strategy.

There were about twice as many KB then Sasuke thought...they were just henged into pebbles around the arena floor. Whenever he got close to one, or close to Naruto, the bunshin would release the henge and attack, while another bunshin would replace him. Sasuke was getting frustrated, as he couldn't see how Naruto's were just popping out of nowhere.

And Naruto looked on, microphone-KB in hand, singing so that all of Konoha could hear him and his audience of bunshin.

"We will we will rock you  
We will we will rock you!"

Civilians were stopping in the street; ninja were leaping to roof tops. Sasuke noticed none of it, and was just taking out Naruto's seeming endless amount of bunshin. He got a good number of them, but they just kept on appearing! So, he began the seals for Gokakyu no Jutsu, to just blow them all the fuck away.

Stomp Stomp Clap. Stomp Stomp Clap.

Just before he could breathe in, Naruto, microphone in hand, appeared in front of him, and with a flick of the wrist activated one of his pyrotechnic jutsus. With a huge flare going off in his face (not that it could have hurt him, mind you, but it sure as hell looked like it could), Sasuke leapt back, momentarily blinded.

The flare served a dual purpose, of stopping Sasuke from torching the roof, and of drawing more attention to the fight.

"Buddy you're a young man hard man  
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day  
You got blood on yo' face  
You big disgrace  
Wavin' your banner all over the place!"

The bunshin had gone on the offensive. Mind you, their Taijutsu sucked, because Naruto didn't practice it as much, but they DID excel manipulating sound. So, in a jutsu similar to what Dosu had used, several of them forced into jarring sounds into Sasuke's inner ear, throwing him off balance. One of them even managed to get a nice cut across Sasuke's face with a kunai, before being destroyed.

Out of the 40 odd original bunshin in the arena, there numbers had dwindled to 15. Sasuke's reaction time was getting better, too, so the original strategy was becoming far less effective.

"We will we will rock you  
Sing it  
We will we will rock you!"

Unfortunately, though, as much faster as Sasuke was getting, he was also getting more enraged. Naruto was mocking him! Mocking HIM, damnit! It should be the other way around!

Stomp Stomp Clap. Stomp Stomp Clap.

And the crowds thickened. The murmurs grew. THIS was the great Uchiha? The other guy is fighting him off while singing! By this point, many of the audience had joined in on the Stomping and the Clapping, and the music was ringing out across the town.

"Buddy you're an old man poor man  
Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make  
You some peace some day  
You got mud on your face  
Big disgrace  
Somebody betta put you back into your place"

This was like fighting Itachi, damnit! He just couldn't get a hit in, not on the main Naruto. Hell, he was fucking DANCING around him...Sasuke would call it capoeira if the guy ever bothered to actually kick him. Naruto was making it seem effortless...Hell, he just fell over into a sideways lean at a 30 degree angle, and stood back up straight! What the hell is with that?

Stomp Stomp Clap. Stomp Stomp Clap.

And thinking about Itachi brought Sasuke back to his youth, about always being compared to Itachi, and about always coming up short. He could see it in Naruto's eyes...he was mocking him, calling him unworthy. Sasuke wasn't about to take that shit from Naruto!

"We will we will rock you  
Sing it  
We will we will rock you"

Most of the arena bunshin were gone, only 3 remaining, and they weren't fighting anymore anyway. Naruto didn't even seem to be taking the fight seriously, the way he was dodging and blocking some of his attacks. So, as Naruto began the chorus, Sasuke began the seals for the Grand Fireball...he didn't expect Naruto to do a few seals of his own, but at least this time, he got the fireball off.

He just didn't expect for Naruto to perform one of this pyrotechnic jutsus at the same time...this one being one that did something to the effect of super cooling the air immediately surrounding you, so that one wouldn't burn themselves with a pyrotechnics gone awry. It didn't last long, and against anything stronger than a Grand Fireball the jutsu would be overwhelmed, but Naruto had backup clones ready to redo the jutsu for him, if his fell.

But no one else knew that. All they saw was Sasuke launch a huge fireball, and Naruto just walk right through it.

By now, nearly everyone was into the song, and together with the Bunshin, went Stomp Stomp Clap.

Stomp Stomp Clap. Stomp Stomp Clap.

One of the audience bunshin stepped forward, holding an electric guitar. Sasuke had backed up, to regroup, and figure out what the hell had just happened. Naruto took into his hands the guitar, and began to play. Frankly, no one could tell if Naruto was actually playing, or just using a jutsu to simulate the sound, but it didn't matter.

It was a damn good solo.

"Everybody  
We will we will rock you  
We will we will rock you  
Alright"

The only lines Naruto sang were "Everybody" and "alright". His bunshin were mostly quiet for the rest...it was the village itself singing, while Naruto played.

Sasuke realized exactly what was happening now. He noticed, through his rage, that everyone, it seemed, had come out to watch the fight. It was too much.

Naruto had to pay.

So he charged up his Chidori.

Naruto didn't even stop playing, though he stared Sasuke in the eyes. Two bunshin behind Naruto performed some more pyrotechnics behind him, causing pillars of flame to rise up. Most didn't even notice the Jutsu's being performed and just saw the effects.

Sasuke ran forward, arm in front of him.

Naruto finished up his solo.

Sasuke pulled his arm back, and then stabbed forward.

Naruto twirled around, and in a similar manner to what Itachi did, smashed the guitar into Sasuke's wrist, causing the Chidori to hit one of the water towers.

It was at this exact moment that Kakashi appeared, just a second too late for Naruto if Sasuke would have managed to hit.

Naruto walked to the edge of the roof, and took a bow.

The villagers saw who they had been cheering for, and singing along to, and were shocked.

They hadn't realized it was the demon brat!

But, damn, could he sing.

The ninjas also cheered. Far fewer of them held grudges, and the few who did had gotten over them when word had spread of all the important things Naruto had done lately.

And Kakashi, holding Sasuke's arm, shunshin-ed away.

Author's Notes: The Song; "We Will Rock You", by Queen.

This is the second time that Naruto has performed in public, and it shocked people how much they enjoyed it.

Especially after they realized who was performing.


	9. Chapter 9

Kiba had made a clean escape with the barrel.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Neji had begun running.

The New Sound Trio was incredibly pissed off with all these goddamn clones, with their irritating noise jutsus.

Naruto and Tayuya, newly defected Konoha Nin (or at least, Number 1 Naruto fan girl) also turned to leave.

But then they felt an absurdly strong chakra.

All of Naruto's clones, about 60 he had left, died.

The only knowledge that Naruto got was that someone as ungodly pissed.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Neji stopped, and turned back. They felt it too.

Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou, newly arrived, landed in the clearing with everyone else.

Hell, even Lee showed up!

And now, Jiroubo, Sakon, and Kidomaru appeared, standing behind one enraged Kimmimaro.

"What is going on here??? Tayuya, get yourself back over here, now! How on earth did you let these genin defeat you??"

The remaining Sound nin all just pointed at Naruto.

"You! Who are you, to single-handedly defeat us?"

"Who am I? Well..."

Kage Bunshin sprung up behind Naruto. Opponents lined up- The Sound nins, minus Kimmimaro, all looked rather nervous, seeing how badly they were outnumbered.

The clearing they were in was rather large, and the Konoha ninjas and the Sand Team moved away a little from Naruto, as did the Sound nin from Kimmimaro. Tayuya stood a little behind Naruto.

And the piano music started. The Sound nin began to get even more nervous, and Kimmimaro became confused...Where the heck was it coming from?

Temari smiled...She got herself a front row seat for another performance, and started inching closer.

"Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time  
I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!  
I'm floating around in ecstasy  
So don't stop me now don't stop me  
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time"

Gaara, not being an idiot, began the attack, with Neji close behind. Sand sprang out and nearly crushed Kidomaru as Neji leapt out at Sakon. Chouji and Shikamaru stepped back a bit, and watched Kankurou's puppets launched at Jiroubo, who was unable to dodge the follow-up kick to the head from Lee, who had appeared behind him.

The girls were more interested in Naruto, and made no attempt to attack any of the others. However, when Kimmimaro shot finger bullets at Naruto, a 'mysterious' blast of wind knocked them off course. Naruto didn't even try to dodge, and just kept on singing.

The music, which had picked up even more towards the end of the first verse, was full on rocking as Naruto launched himself forward, pyrotechnics flaring behind him, straight at Kimmimaro.

"I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies  
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity  
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva  
I'm gonna go go go  
There's no stopping me"

Naruto didn't know who Lady Godiva was, nor what a car was, but he figured that she was probably some really well known runner or something from the ancient world.

Kimmimaro pulled back, defensively. He didn't expect for Naruto to just fly past him, then bounce off a tree and come back around his other side. All the while trailing fire almost like a comet...it made him look like he was going a lot faster, for sure. And Kimmimaro wasn't sure if that fire would hurt him, yet, and wasn't willing to risk it.

The battle royale amongst the others was going rather well. No one there, really, except for a full on curse sealed Kimmimaro could really stand up to Gaara, and Kidomaru's attacks couldn't even break the first layer of sand. Sakon and Ukon were a slippery target for Neji, but so far they were just going back and forth. Kankurou was just messing up Jiroubo, who, while being strong, couldn't get a good hit on the puppets.

Shikamaru was strategizing.

Chouji...well, he was eating.

And Temari and Tayuya were squealing.

"I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic man of you"

Shikamaru made his move. Forming his Kagemane no Jutsu, he shot his shadow, and ensnared an unsuspecting target.

When Sakon and Ukon both just stopped fighting, freezing, Neji took advantage, and with several precise Jyuuken strikes to the heart, head, and throat, killing the brothers whose bodies were in the exact same spot.

Kimmimaro was enraged. How this fight had managed to devolve into a...a...concert was beyond him. While the music WAS catchy, he wasn't sure where the blonde genin was going with this.

A large number of Kage Bunshin had appeared between the two, and several of them had leapt forward. Kimmimaro was shocked when they, well, burst into flames just as he was about to destroy them. Two hundred degrees, indeed.

"What on earth are you doing, trash? Why do you keep on singing!?"

Naruto responded, along with his bunshin chorus.

"Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time  
I'm having a ball don't stop me now  
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call  
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)  
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)  
I don't want to stop at all"

'He's having a good time?? He's mocking me?? He isn't taking this seriously! Well, I can always change that.' This crazy Konoha nin's style of fighting was irritating, but there was no way it could stand up to a curse seal. So, Kimmimaro activated his.

At the same time, Gaara finally got around to squishing Kidomaru in the sand, joining with Neji and Kankurou in the ass kicking of Jiroubo. Really, the guy had activated his curse seal, and was goddamn strong, but he just couldn't get a good hit in, and that annoying Hyuuga kept on cutting off chakra flow points.

Temari and Tayuya were openly cheering.

Shikamaru, looking at the two girls, just mumbled to himself. 'Goddamn troublesome Naruto...how is he getting all the girls? He can have those ones, though...they look troublesome.'

And Naruto sang, not even batting an eye at curse seal Kimmimaro.

"I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars  
On a collision course  
I am a satellite I'm out of control  
I am a sex machine ready to reload  
Like an exploding note about to  
Oh oh oh oh oh explode"

Gaara couldn't just stand aside at this point...He wasn't immediately needed against Jiroubo, but Uzumaki...So he erected a sand wall in front of the charging Kimmimaro. It did stop Kimmimaro for a moment, but he was tearing his way through it.

Naruto had turned around, not even looking at Kimmimaro anymore. He had more important things, at the moment. He was singing clearly to the two ladies behind him, who had pretty much given into their inner fangirl. Tayuya was probably considering flashing him.

"I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic woman out of you"

Pyrotechnics flared. Groups of Konoha nin, the ones who would have recovered the wounded left behind, were approaching the scene, confused at the music.

At this point, Tayuya decided to go ahead and flashed Naruto, when he got to the last line. This, of course, caused him to be staring at her as he said it, which kind of pissed off Temari. She wasn't about to be shown up. She flashed him, too.

At this point, though, Kimmimaro had ripped his way through the sand barrier and was still coming. His arm bone popped out, ready to be used as a sword. The girls, with tops back on, gasped. Temari out of 'WTF?' factor, and Tayuya because she actually realized how bad news this was.

At this point, though, a flying side kick came out of nowhere in the form of Lee. While it didn't hurt Kimmimaro that much, a flying boot to the head was enough to knock him to the side. Kimmimaro responded with several complicated sword attacks, which the still injured Lee could barely handle. At the last second, however, Lee found himself kawamiri-ed to safety from one of Naruto's Bunshins. This caused Kimmimaro to refocus himself on Naruto.

"Just shut the hell up, Trash! Just shut up and die!"

Naruto turned back around. It was probably about time to do something.

So, he sang. He sang and he danced and he dodged.

"Don't stop me don't stop me don't stop me  
Hey hey hey!  
Don't stop me don't stop me  
Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)  
Don't stop me have a good time good time  
Don't stop me don't stop me  
Ooh ooh Alright  
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you "

Kimmimaro could barely concentrate anymore. After calling out his attacks name, everything just went crazy. Smoke kept on appearing out of nowhere in his eyes, bright strobe light flashes blinded him, after every other attack a column of flame would shoot up. He felt like he was in a movie or something, fighting a choreographed fight. His opponent never attacked, only dodged. Though hard-pressed, and barely dodging, Naruto was making it seem like it was only a dance.

Which, ironically, it was. The dance of the Camellia, Tsubaki no Mai. Seriously, Kimmimaro should have realized not to use techniques called 'dances' against the best dancer in the world. Or so Naruto thought to himself.

During the guitar solo halfway through the last verse, Jiroubo finally was entrapped in Kuroari, and stabbed to death by Karasu. Kimmimaro was the last one standing of the enemy Sound nins.

Konoha nin were now filling the woods, watching the fight. There were several teams here, a bunch of whom were medic nins, ready to search out wounded Konoha genin. They didn't expect what they had found, and were greatly surprised at how well Naruto was handling himself. Sure, they all had seen him perform against Sasuke, but that had been more of a spar. Some of them had seen his chuunin exam match, but both sides were dancing there. But here, Naruto was the only one dancing, and he was still standing.

And then Kimmimaro began to feel it. He pulled back for a second, coughing out some blood. 'No, not now! Why now?? I will not end like this!' He launched another attack at Naruto, the Dance of the Willow, Yanagi no Mai. Naruto just kept on singing, and kept on dancing.

It wasn't even as hard now, with Kimmimaro's growing disability. His words took a mocking lilt to them.

"Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time  
I'm having a ball don't stop me now  
If you wanna have a good time  
Just give me a call  
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)  
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)  
I don't wanna stop at all"

All the others were watching the fight end. Kimmimaro had fallen back, on his knees. Coughing up blood, he knew he was dying. "Who are you??"

"a la la la laaaa  
La la la la  
La la laa laa laa laaa  
La la laa la la la la la laaa hey!!... "

As the bunshin finished up the song, and faded out the music, Naruto had approached Kimmimaro. "Weren't you listening to the song? I think I described myself adequately there. I am Uzumaki Naruto."

And with that, Kimmimaro expired.

The two girls cheered, and jumped upon Naruto, not unlike pouncing tigers on fresh meat. Konoha nin came out of the woods, and picked up the bodies of the Sound 4 for further analysis. One of the medics began patching up Neji, where he had been injured in the fight, while others were yelling at Lee for even thinking of leaving before he was fully healed.

And Naruto stood up, back straight, and began the walk back to Konoha.

Author's Notes: The Song- "Can't Stop Me Now", by Queen.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a week after Sasuke had been rescued from the Sound nin.

He had spent most of his time under medical observation, covered in seals to try to somehow stop the curse seal.

Tsunade, not being a complete idiot, took a blood and tissue sample from the curse seal location. She noticed that there were radically different enzymes located there.

She was currently working on creating antibodies to destroy the enzyme trigger...after all, enzymes merely attached onto chemical reactions and made them cheap enough, energy wise, to be done, or be done quickly. Shouldn't be too hard to fix.

So for the moment Sasuke was out of the hospital.

And, being a stubborn jackass, the first thing he did was confront Naruto.

Sasuke honestly thought that this Naruto was an imposter. After all, the Naruto he knew was a dead last retard who couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. And he definitely could not sing. Especially not better than Sasuke himself! (In the privacy of the Uchiha compound, Sasuke tried singing, assuming that, as the Uchiha, he would be good at it. He sounded ungodly terrible).

So he approached Naruto at the training ground, and figured that he'd start himself on his 'redemption', by taking out the imposter Naruto and finding the real one. This would prove that he was still the best, or something like that.

"Ok, Dobe...who are you? I know Naruto doesn't have anywhere enough talent to do the things you've done...what have you done with him? Who are you??"

Kakashi, who had been following Sasuke, smacked himself in the forehead. 'Man, you're just begging to be made a fool of again, aren't ya?'

The training ground wasn't a very private one, nor was it all that public. Tayuya happened to be present, and Team 8 was maybe 100 meters away, but that's about it.

No one else was around...so Naruto decided to screw with Sasuke's head.

"Who am I? Please allow me to introduce myself, Sasuke..."

And with that, Kage bunshins appeared. A drum beat started in the background.

Tayuya squealed-she hadn't heard THIS song before.

"Please allow me to introduce myself  
I'm a man of wealth and taste  
I've been around for a long, long years  
Stole many a man's soul and faith"

It had been late afternoon, early evening when Sasuke hunted Naruto down. With the sun setting, and shadows seeming to form around Naruto, it was a tad spooky. But Sasuke was an Uchiha, damnit, and they didn't scare easily. Stealing souls? What the hell was he talking about?

"And I was 'round when Sandaime  
Had his moment of doubt and pain  
Made damn sure that Orochimaru  
Washed his hands and sealed his fate"

So this man was also responsible for Orochimaru going traitor? Did he cause him to become a traitor, or did he just point out his experiments and Orochimaru fled on his own?

Sasuke couldn't tell.

"Pleased to meet you  
Hope you guess my name  
But what's puzzling you  
Is the nature of my game

I stuck around Konoha  
When I saw it was a time for a change  
Killed the Nidaime and his advisors  
Sarutobi screamed in vain"

Wait, what? Sasuke hadn't known that the Nidaime had been assassinated...but then, come to think of it, he didn't know much about either of the first two Hokages, other than that they were brothers (which really made no sense, if one was Kage after the other...they must of started young or ended old), and that the Nidaime was really good at Suiton and trained the Third. So this wasn't the first time this...thing...killed someone and/or took their identity?

Naruto was laughing his ass off, on the inside.

"I was in ANBU  
Held a captain's rank  
When the Iwa War raged  
And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you  
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah  
Ah, what's puzzling you  
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah  
woo woo, woo woo"

He was a captain in the war? Jeez, this guy got around.

The music was picking up, and all the Kage bunshins had started making a "woo woo" noise...

"I watched with glee  
While your Hokage  
Fought for six decades  
For the sannin he trained  
woo woo, woo woo

I shouted out,  
"Who killed the Uchihas?"  
When after all  
It was you and me  
who who, who who"

Sasuke stumbled back at the last verse. This man-thing had aided Itachi in killing the Uchiha???? And what did he mean, "You and me"? Sasuke had sure has not killed any Uchihas...not for a lack of trying.

Before he could interrupt and question, though...the song continued.

"Let me please introduce myself  
I'm a man of wealth and taste  
And I laid traps for Yondaime  
Who got killed fighting the Kyuubi  
woo woo, who who

Pleased to meet you  
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah  
who who  
But what's puzzling you  
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby  
who who, who who"

So this man was also responsible for summoning the Kyuubi? Or did he just insure that the Yondaime would die along with it??

"Pleased to meet you  
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah  
But what's confusing you  
Is just the nature of my game  
woo woo, who who

Just as every cop is a criminal  
And all the sinners saints  
As heads is tails  
Just call me Madara  
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint  
who who, who who"

Naruto had looked in history books, to try to find out the significance behind the name "Lucifer", who often got mentioned in songs-Not as much as that Jesus fellow, but he had his share.

The only description that Naruto could pin down was, word for word, "And Madara descended upon the land, Sharingan twirling, like Lucifer and his demons." Since Madara was an Uchiha, he figured he'd just substitute the name in, to screw with Sasuke more...

Ironically, Sasuke had no clue who he was. Though he did take offence to hearing that line about the cops. Cops weren't bad people! Almost his whole family were cops! And the only really evil family member was the one who WASN'T a cop.

"So if you meet me  
Have some courtesy  
Have some sympathy, and some taste  
woo woo  
Use all your well-learned politesse  
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah  
woo woo, woo woo

Pleased to meet you  
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah  
who who  
But what's puzzling you  
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down  
woo woo, woo woo"

So, this guy is telling him to suck up to him, eh? Well, Sasuke doesn't suck up to any body snatching evil-doer...unless, of course, they offered him power. Then he'd suck whatever they like.

And he didn't even realize the innuendo in what he just said.

"Woo, who  
Oh yeah, get on down  
Oh yeah  
Oh yeah!  
(woo woo)

Tell me baby, what's my name  
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name  
Tell me baby, what's my name  
I tell you one time, you're to blame

Oh, who  
woo, woo  
Woo, who  
Woo, woo  
Woo, who, who  
Woo, who, who  
Oh, yeah"

At the point, Naruto had walked over to Tayuya, and was singing to her. This left Sasuke with time to figure out his next plan of action...Operation: Rescue Naruto and prove Uchiha Superiority was about to commence.

Kakashi, who was still watching, just groaned. Did Sasuke not realize Naruto was just fucking with him? Though it was damn funny.

"What's my name  
Tell me, baby, what's my name  
Tell me, sweetie, what's my name

Woo, who, who  
Woo, who, who  
Woo, who, who  
Woo, who, who  
Woo, who, who  
Woo, who, who  
Oh, yeah  
Woo woo  
Woo woo"

And with that, as the bunshins died out with the 'woo woo's, Naruto started making out with Tayuya.

Sasuke was about to initiate his plan to destroy the imposter...but well, he was kind of embarrassed with the way the two were making out.

Kakashi was rather impressed with Naruto...he never expected the kid to pick up a hottie like that.

And then Naruto looked up.

"Does that answer your question?"

"So, you're some kind of body snatching long lived freak named Madara, who gets his kicks torturing Konoha Nin?"

"...Sasuke, you're a fucking idiot."

And with that, Naruto and Tayuya walked away.

So Sasuke decided to spread the word, of Naruto's 'new' demon status.

It didn't quite go as he expected.

After all, every time he told a villager, "We need help! Uzumaki Naruto is a demon!" they responded with a blank look.

"So? I've known that one for years, and they haven't done anything bout it yet."

When he told ninja, they'd normally hush him up, saying "Do you want to get killed? Don't talk about it!"

Truly, Sasuke thought, this Madara fellow was quite the demon, holding the entire village in thrall. How had he never known about this? How long had Madara just been playing with him, how long has it been since Naruto was possessed?

"When I save you, Dobe, you better be damn well thankful."

Author's Notes: The Song- "Sympathy for the Devil", by The Rolling Stones.

You may or may not have noticed that the songs get modified a little from their original lyrics to match Naruto more. This song was probably the most exemplary example of that.


	11. Chapter 11

Sasuke had assembled the rest of the Rookie 9, and Team Gai.

He had to share the news...They had to know the truth about Naruto.

Most of the people he dragged together right now were more than a little pissed off at the Uchiha, seeing all the shit that he had made them go through of late. But they still came, because Sasuke said 'He had important news about Naruto'.

Unfortunately, Naruto found out about the meeting. Well, unfortunately for Sasuke, and what was left of his reputation...

"I recently confronted Naruto, and he admitted to me, albeit in song form, that he was not actually Naruto, but instead a body stealing demon named Madara, who has apparently been torturing Konoha since its founding."

...And Sasuke said it with such conviction, too!

"Look, I know this might be hard to believe, but can you really believe that Naruto is so talented?? It makes so much sense! Naruto isn't Naruto anymore, and now he's a demon!"

If Neji had any less self control, he'd have fallen over laughing now. But that would be too undignified.

Kiba didn't care about dignity as much, though.

"Damnit, Kiba, I'm being serious! We need to do something!"

And that's when the music began to flow through the training ground.

Sasuke immediately fell back into a fighting stance, ready to do battle with the foul demon Madara.

Shikamaru sighed. Chouji ate. Sakura and Ino probably squealed.

"No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes"

And Naruto entered the grounds.

He looked so startlingly depressed, so unNaruto-like, that everyone was shocked. Naruto was normally so upbeat...was it just a mask?

"No one knows what it's like

To be hated

To be fated

To telling only lies"

The girls began to reach out to Naruto...after all, this was the most depressed they'd ever seen Naruto, and apparently these girls found that kind of thing attractive.

The guys, excepting Sasuke, were thinking more along the lines of 'So is this how he really feels? I mean, to him, we were just at a meeting hearing about how he was a demon. Does he just normally hide how he feels?"

And Sasuke thought, 'Shit! The demon is subverting them! And..and...he's stealing MY fangirls, with ANGST!! I'm the only one who gets girls with angst around here, damnit! DAMN YOU, MADARA!'

"But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free"

Naruto had lifted up his head, which before had been bowed. You could see the determination in his eyes as he continued, as if to say "Even if you doubt me, even if you call me demon, I'll still keep on going. Because I have to fulfill my dreams."

A man who was willing to show angst, and then also worked though it? Ino DID squeal at this point, and only because she was a more dedicated Sasuke-phile did Sakura repress it.

'Oh, hell no. He's making it seem like I'm the bad guy here! Truly, an intelligent demon.'

"No one knows what it's like

To feel these feelings

Like I do

And I blame you

No one bites back as hard

On their anger

None of my pain and woe

Can show through"

This sealed the deal with the guys...to them, this was clearly telling them that Naruto did normally wear a mask, out of his own free will. He didn't WANT to be an angst fest like Sasuke. The pain was there, but he didn't let it rule his life.

Sasuke felt insulted...The demon was implying that Naruto had a harsher life then he?? It's not like Naruto's family was killed by, well, his family! There is no way it was as bad as his!

"But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free"

The music was beginning to pick up, and Naruto was starting to get more active. He was walking around more, instead of just standing there, but he wasn't dancing. It just wasn't the right mood for that. But he was still working the crowd.

For now, though, he had moved to one end of the group. By now, they had formed a sort of line, and Naruto began walking down it, looking at each person as he sang the next verse.

"When my fist clenches, crack it open

Before I use it and lose my cool

When I smile, tell me some bad news

Before I laugh and act like a fool

If I swallow anything evil

Put your finger down my throat

If I shiver, please give me a blanket

Keep me warm, let me wear your coat"

It was like he was telling them how much he trusted them, how much he felt he needed them. This song was building up camaraderie between the rookies and Team Gai that was being formed around Naruto, and the seeming trust he was placing into them.

'No, no, no! The demon is seducing them, too! This is the worst possible thing to happen! Damnit, Naruto, you're going to owe me so damn much when I finally get rid of this stupid demon!'

And with that, Sasuke fled the scene.

And Naruto hit the last verse.

"No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes"

Surprisingly, it was not Ino, Sakura, or even Hinata. It was Tenten who stepped forward, and hugged him. Naruto had ended as he had begun, head bowed, and as Tenten hugged him, he just looked up and smiled.

'Heh...Naruto 3; Sasuke 0'.

Author's Notes: The Song- "Behind Blue Eyes", by The Who

While the title really fits Naruto, and the lyrics, to some extent, it's just too angsty for Naruto under most circumstances. But I think it worked pretty well here.


	12. Chapter 12

It had been 2 and a half years.

Two and a half years since Jiraiya convinced Tsunade to let him take Naruto on a 'training trip'.

It took Tsunade three days to find out that 'training trip' actually meant 'world tour'.

Tsunade also hadn't expected for that Tayuya girl to go with them.

Essentially, Naruto and Jiraiya would just go from town to town, and Naruto would start performing.

Sure, the Akatsuki could follow him...but, well, they had their own separate issues.

Needless to say, he made it through ok.

So when he came back, his friends threw him a party.

It didn't quite go as Sakura, the host, had expected.

Naruto was pretty much the same person...just more...extreme.

The party had kicked ass, but it was a lot crazier than anyone expected.

For instance, when Naruto saw how little alcohol there was, he somehow managed to get, well, a helluva lot more brought over rather fast. It got pretty damn wild from there, and a lot more fun.

Sakura was one of the few girls who hadn't fallen for Naruto, still staying true to Sasuke. This brought her much grief, considering Sasuke's current...situation.

When another party was thrown two days later, and Naruto did the same thing...

"Naruto, you've changed so much since you left. It's been so different without you."

"Yeah, but I'm back now...besides, I've only changed for the better. But you, Sakura...you've barely changed. I don't know why you won't let yourself change."

"...You're crazy, Naruto."

Naruto and Sakura had been hanging out on that bridge their team always met at. It was midmorning, and they had been catching up.

"You know what? You may be right, Sakura."

Sakura was shocked when a few Kage bunshins just appeared out of nowhere. It had been a long time since she had seen Naruto randomly break out into full song (He ended up singing a lot drunk, but that was all a capella).

Naruto jumped down from the ledge he was sitting on, onto the center of the bridge.

"Friday night I crashed your party  
Saturday I said I'm sorry  
Sunday came and trashed me out again  
I was only having fun  
Wasn't hurting anyone  
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change"

Heh. Yeah, the weekend WAS fun. There had been so little fun with Naruto gone, that most people were initially surprised. They hadn't realized how much of a presence Naruto had had.

And Naruto DID apologize for trashing her place...but that hadn't stopped him from doing it again.

"I've been stranded in the combat zone  
I walked through Konoha alone  
Even rode my motorcycle in the rain  
And you told me not to drive  
But I made it home alive  
So you said that only proves that I'm insane"

It was crazy of Naruto, Sakura had thought. Bicycles were normally ridden only by civilians, but when Naruto had seen pictures of Motorcycles with his sensei's music, and found out what they were, he was determined to make one. Technology was an odd thing in the elemental countries...in some ways they were highly advanced, in others not at all. They could only make moped-esque bikes, but Naruto loved them to death...and, with his skills with henge, he had managed to make his bike look a hell of a lot cooler than most other peoples.

And Sakura had been angry at him when he drove off, Friday night, drunk off his ass in the rain. But Sakura wasn't able to stop him, and Tayuya had just told her that he wouldn't listen to any words of caution, anyway. It was nerve wracking, and honestly, Sakura had been surprised at how worried she had been about Naruto.

"You may be right  
I may be crazy  
But it just might be a lunatic you're looking for  
Turn out the light  
Don't try to save me  
You may be wrong for all I know  
But you may be right"

Yeah, I AM looking for a lunatic. After all, I still say I'm after Sasuke...but even I don't believe me anymore. Besides...looking at how Naruto had filled out, there were much better lunatics out there to be chasing. But no, I can't really expect Naruto to be what I'm looking for...Besides, changing Naruto had been one of her lifelong goals, though WHAT she wanted to change him to had been altering rather dramatically as time went on.

"Remember how I found you there  
Alone in your electric chair  
I told you dirty jokes until you smiled  
You were lonely for a man  
I said take me as I am  
'Cause you might enjoy some madness for awhile"

Yeah, when Naruto had shown up, she had been rather depressed. Life hadn't been going so well for Sakura. She had invested too much time and effort into Sasuke, and it wasn't going well for her. She had been torturing herself over how her life had gone.

Then Naruto arrived...she had thought he was just joking, with some of the things he had said to her...but if he was singing about it to her now, does that mean he was serious?

"Now think of all the years you tried to  
Find someone to satisfy you  
I might be as crazy as you say  
If I'm crazy then it's true  
That it's all because of you  
And you wouldn't want me any other way"

Jeez, this was bringing her back. She had missed part of the old Naruto...before he had undergone his startling transformation; he had been so devoted to her. It made her feel liked, and wanted, and that was a good feeling. Than, that just disappeared, and the other pillar in her life, Sasuke...

But was Naruto offering what she thought he was?

"You may be right  
I may be crazy  
But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for  
It's too late to fight  
It's too late to change me  
You may be wrong for all I know  
But you may be right"

Naruto had walked closer to her...for the most part, he had stood on the bridge, as she sat up on the opposite handrail. But now he was approaching her...

"You may be right  
I may be crazy  
But it just might be a lunatic you're looking for  
Turn out the light  
Don't try to save me  
You may be wrong for all I know  
But you may be right  
You may be wrong but you may be right  
You may be wrong but you may be right"

Naruto kissed her. She kissed him back. Naruto flashed a thumbs up over her shoulder, off in the direction of the nearest section of woods.

300 feet away, up in a tree, Sasuke sat with a pair of binoculars.

'DAMN YOU, FIEND! SHE WAS THE LAST FANGIRL I HAD LEFT!!!! Even while you were gone, gallivanting about the world in Naruto's body, I had kept vigil here, to ensure that when you came back to Konoha...I would be ready. But no! You take away from me the last thing that I had left?? And now you taunt me? You will pay, foul demon...'

Author's Notes: The Song- "You May Be Right", by Billy Joel

And so, Naruto has yet another interaction with one of the girls. The songs are all pretty much just him picking up a girl, or getting into a fight.


	13. Chapter 13

It was a couple weeks after Naruto had returned to Konoha. He had been catching up with everyone, some people demanding more attention than others. But he was slowly making his way through the Rookie Nine, finding out what everyone was up to, and what he had missed out on.

However, Naruto had noticed someone following him, a rather familiar presence that stayed just close enough to see him, yet too far away to attract attention. A presence that had yet to 'catch up' with him...so he figured he might as well go and talk.

"Hinata, what are you doing? Have you been avoiding me?"

"...No, Naruto-kun...I've...I've just been so busy."

"Oh? Anything interesting?"

Hinata's face just fell at this point...Naruto could tell whatever was going on...it wasn't good. He'd probably have to get details out of Neji...but maybe there was something he could do now.

"The clan elders...they want me to fight Hanabi for the title of clan heir."

"Ouch, that sucks...but you have, what, 5, 7 years on her? That shouldn't be a problem!"

"I always get so nervous when fighting her...I can never win. She's just stronger with Jyuuken than I am."

"No, Hinata! I believe in you..."

As Naruto trailed off, Kage Bunshin appeared, and began producing a rock beat.

Naruto stood up from where Hinata had been sitting, and began to sing.

"Sometimes when your hopes have all been shattered  
And there's nowhere to turn  
You wonder how you keep going  
Think of all the things that really mattered  
And the chances you've earned  
The fire in your heart is growing  
You can fly, if you try leaving the past behind  
Heaven only knows what you might find"

Hinata felt feint...Naruto-kun had never sang a song just for her before! It had taken all of her nerve not to flee as Naruto-kun had approached, and to actually answer Naruto-kun's questions...

Listening to the lyrics, she wondered. Yes! I do wonder how I keep going! My life has been so caught up in observing yours...it's all that's mattered to me. Have I earned something?

At that point, the fire was growing in more...private...places than Hinata's heart.

"Dare - dare to believe you can survive  
You hold the future in your hand  
Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive  
It's time to take a stand  
And you can win, if you dare"

Naruto-kun believes in me? And is telling me that I should believe in me, too? But, but...It's not that easy! Hanabi always wins! True, I've never been able to get myself to fight her full out...maybe that's what's stopping me? Maybe I just need to...'take a stand'?

"Everybody's trying to break your spirit  
Keeping you down  
Seems like it's been forever  
But there's another voice if you'll just hear it  
Saying it's the last round  
Looks like it's now or never  
Out of the darkness you stumble into the light  
Fighting for the things you know are right"

Geeze...Hinata nearly snorted at the beginning of the latest verse. Yeah, ain't that the truth. And this WAS the last round...This was her last chance to stay clan heir. But if this was how the Elders were going to play...Well, she KNEW that she would make the better heir, that she would be the only one to try and end the caged bird seal, and if she had to fight for it, she would (if Naruto-kun believed in her, that is).

"Dare - dare to believe you can survive  
The power is there at your command  
Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive  
It's time to take a stand  
And you can win, if you dare"

Naruto had pulled Hinata up, from where she sat. He looked her in the eyes, confidence oozing out of him. Hinata just lapped that up...if just watching Naruto had inspired her to survive to where she had...him singing to her, stating his clear confidence in her was boosting her to untold levels. Of course, these levels were not quite at what a normal person's confidence would be at...but they were a start.

"Dare - dare to believe you can survive  
You hold the future in your hand  
Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive  
The power is there at your command"

Hinata was feeling it...The power WAS in her hand, damnit. It always was...she had just never reached out to take it. Now, though...there was nothing to stop her. She WOULD beat Hanabi, she WOULD remain clan heir, she WOULD...

"Dare - dare to keep all your love alive  
Dare to be all you can be  
Dare - 'cause there is a place where dreams survive  
And it's calling you on to-mmppphh"

...Start making out with Naruto.

After all, HE had been the one telling her that she 'held the future in her hand'...it wasn't her fault that she had been holding his hand at the time.

Author's Notes: The Song- "Dare", by Stan Bush (From Transformers: The Movie…the original one).

The lyrics make such perfect sense for Hinata, and with the new Transformer's Movie coming out….The song's from the original movie were fantastic.


	14. Chapter 14

It was bound to happen, eventually.

One of the members of Akatsuki had caught up with Naruto, during his 2 and a half year world tour.

Deidara had managed to wander away from Sasori, and found Naruto in the middle of a concert. While the pyrotechnics were good, the music itself didn't really appeal to Deidara. Not enough bang to it, in his mind.

But hey! Free Jinchuriki, practically right in his lap! I mean, how can you say no?

Especially one that doesn't even seem to be a ninja.

Now, it should be established that Jiraiya DID actually teach a few things to Naruto. Some tricks with Kage Bunshin, a little taijutsu, some peeping jutsus. Though the time skip was more for Jiraiya to be at almost Nodoka levels of proud over Naruto's...accomplishments, than actually teaching him. And to try and peep on that Tayuya girl who was tagging along.

But that didn't show through to Deidara, who unfortunately walked in on the tail end of a concert where Naruto had finished up with love songs. Those weren't Deidara's sort of thing.

So, as the crowd broke up, and Naruto began to leave, Deidara made his move.

This, of course, involved explosions.

"What the hell? Did a giant clay pigeon just explode in front of me? Who the hell fights with giant exploding clay pigeons?"

"Don't mock true art, you wannabe! Art is a bang, yeah! Something you clearly don't understand!"

"So, you're attacking me because I didn't use enough explosions...?"

At this point, several things happened. First, Naruto noticed the cloak Deidara was wearing, and what exactly it stood for. He also realized which member it was, thanks to Jiraiya's spying efforts. 'This one will be too easy.'

Second, the crowd, on edge since the explosion, began to panic.

Third, Jiraiya and Tayuya began to make moves towards Deidara.

"No, kid...I'm here for the Kyuubi. Showing you true art is but a side thing."

"...True art, eh? I think I can oblige ya."

Naruto's left over Kage Bunshins from his previous concert sped to his side. The crowd backed up even further, but still stayed to watch.

Deidara began molding some more clay.

And was greatly confused when the clones began a chant.

"Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye  
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye"

"What the hell are you doing, kid?"

Tayuya appeared by Naruto's side, just in case.

Naruto just sang.

"See me ride out of the sunset  
On your color TV screen  
Out for all that I can get  
If you know what I mean  
Women to the left of me  
And women to the right  
Ain't got no gun  
Ain't got no knife  
But don't you start no fight"

Meh. Boring music. It had no style to it, damnit! Though the girl with the kid was pretty good looking, and she did let the kid pretty much grope her when he got to the 'women around him' lines...Akatsuki needed women, damnit! It was a sausage party of the highest order, and someone needed to do something about it!

Deidara decided the first thing he'd do after capturing the Kyuubi brat would be to go impress some chicks with his sculpting talents. Or his demolitions talents. Whatever.

So he began to make his move towards Naruto, not expecting what came next.

"Cause I'm T.N.T., I'm dynamite  
T.N.T. and I'll win the fight  
T.N.T. I'm a power load  
T.N.T. watch me explode"

As Deidara made his move forward, a Kage Bunshin dive-bombed towards him. Preparing to smack it away, Deidara definitely didn't expect it to explode.

Nor the next 5 that came at him to all explode, too.

And with such pretty colors and lights.

'This is the best use of Bunshin Daibakuha I've ever seen!'

So, Deidara being Deidara, he stopped to stare at the pretty explosions.

'The plan is working so far...'

"I'm dirty, mean and mighty unclean  
I'm a wanted man  
Public enemy number one  
Understand?  
So lock up your daughter  
Lock up your wife  
Lock up your back door  
And run for your life  
The man is back in town  
So don't you mess me 'round"

Naruto punctuated every line, every pause with another explosion. His bunshins were going crazy with pyrotechnics, releasing odd colored smokes, booming sounds, and of course, large explosions.

They were coming from all sides at Deidara, who was dodging almost unconsciously as he stared at the wonderful, wonderful show.

The crowd was cheering this all on, just thinking it was an act, a finale for an already awesome performance.

Jiraiya was smiling, as he watched Tayuya mold her body to Naruto as he sang. In most cases, Naruto would be using the girl more to emphasize his song, but in this case, it worked better with her all over him.

'This...this...this is beautiful!'

Several of Naruto's clones began henging into other appearances before exploding. The last few had used Orioke no jutsu, which had prompted Deidara's last thought.

The more beautiful the object, the more beautiful the explosion.

"Cause I'm T.N.T., I'm dynamite  
T.N.T. and I'll win the fight  
T.N.T. I'm a power load  
T.N.T. watch me explode"

The clones were really trying to blow up Deidara. This, oddly enough, made the show even better for him. It was the only way Deidara would allow himself to die...going out in a blaze of glory. This...this opponent was perfect! Hell, he even demonstrated that he understood exactly what made art good!

'I wonder if I could convince him to come on as my pupil...he doesn't even need the clay, seeing his affinity with Bunshins!'

"T.N.T. aye, aye, aye  
T.N.T. aye, aye, aye  
T.N.T. aye, aye, aye  
T.N.T. aye, aye, aye  
T.N.T. aye  
I'm dynamite (aye, aye)  
T.N.T. aye  
And I'll win the fight (aye, aye)  
T.N.T. aye  
I'm a power load (aye, aye)  
T.N.T.  
Watch me explode"

As the song faded away, with Kage Bunshin exploding all over the place, Deidara realized 'If I capture him now...he'll have his Biju extracted. And if that happens, he'll die, yeah. I cannot let a fellow artist die...not one that'll help me prove Sasori wrong!'

"...So I was wrong, yeah. Sue me. We'll meet again, little Jinchuriki."

Luckily, the crowd was too busy cheering to hear this last bit.

And with a rather large explosion of his own, Deidara disappeared.

Author's Notes: The Song- "TNT", by AC/DC.

And the first off the Akatsuki encounters has occurred. They were bound to catch up to him eventually.

Reviews, comments, criticisms, song/scene suggestions…all accepted.


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto woke up late, after passing out in training.

It was the day of the battle at the bridge, but at the moment, he had more pressing things on his mind.

He had left to catch up with the team, but noticed the signs of the Samurai heading towards Tsunami's house. He sent a Kage Bunshin ahead to scout the bridge (but not engage), while he himself turned around and ran back.

'This is the first time I'll be in the house alone with Tsunami! I can finally make my move!'

Fortunately, the two samurai attacking her even gave him a good entrance...he was going to knock her socks (and maybe more) off.

Unfortunately, the damn brat was here, too! He'd have to divert the kid away, so he doesn't interfere, or find out about Naruto's singing too early.

So, with the two Samurai trying to drag Tsunami away, with the little brat interfering, Naruto made his move.

"Listen, Lady, just stop struggling and let us do our jobs!"

"Hey, Lenny, you here that?"

"Whatcha talkin' bout, Carl?...Hey, where's that music coming from?"

Indeed, music began to play...several kage bunshin appeared, one dragging Inari away ("You have to rally the villagers...or something. Just go somewhere else!"), while the others began producing music.

"There's a calm surrender  
To the rush of day  
When the heat of the rolling world  
Can be turned away"

And with that, Naruto walked into view. Two Kage bunshin proceed to dispatch the Samurai, who were mighty confused about what was going on. They were easily tied up, too, and dragged away.

Tsunami looked at her savior, who seemed to be walking towards her out of some kind of mist. It had the effect of making him look rather impressive, especially for a twelve year old boy.

'It's all in the walk, Naruto...just keep it up!'

"An enchanted moment  
And it sees me through  
It's enough for this restless warrior  
Just to be with you"

At this point, Naruto reached Tsunami.

Tsunami blushed. The song was rather romantic, and the boy was smiling warmly at her. She hadn't consciously noticed the light seeming to dim a little, or the wind picking up a bit. It all added to the atmosphere, on top of the music, to make this all very romantic.

"And can you feel the love tonight?  
It is where we are  
It's enough for wide eyed wanderer  
That we got this far"

Nobody had ever sung to her like this. Hell, no one could really afford music these days, to be honest. No musicians ever bothered coming here, what with all the economic problems. It made her feel like a teenager again, gossiping about the village heartbreaker.

Naruto took Tsunami's hand. 'Come on, Naruto, keep it up. She's falling for it, just don't lose it! Sensei would be so proud!'

"And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best"

Naruto kissed her hand. Tsunami had fallen under the music's spell, as most women do. Even though she was a good 17 years older than he, she was still falling for it. She hadn't gotten any in a while, and was definitely 'in the mood', as they say.

She wasn't even seeing Naruto as a boy anymore, but seeing him as an amalgam of several men of her life. Some of the subtle genjutsus the Kage Bunshin were using were capitalizing on this fact, making Naruto look older and more mature. He definitely looked serious, as he sang.

Naruto continued to sing.

"There's a time for ev'ryone  
If they only learn  
That the twisting kaleidoscope  
Moves us all in turn"

Naruto twirled Tsunami over to him, and held her in a one arm hug. They were still standing on the docks, looking off into the morning sun rising over the water. It was breathtaking (though that was mainly aided by the Kage Bunshin), and Naruto could feel he was close.

Tsunami didn't even notice the height difference. It had been a long time since a man held her, and she was realizing how much she missed it.

And Naruto kept on singing.

"There's a rhyme and reason  
To the wild outdoors  
When the heart of this star-crossed voyager  
Beats in time with yours"

Naruto turned, and looked Tsunami in the eyes. Her breath caught, as he moved in for a kiss. It was light, no more than a peck, but it was enough. He could see it in her eyes, that it was enough.

"And can you feel the love tonight?  
It is where we are  
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer  
That we got this far"

This time, Naruto went in for a longer kiss. Tsunami was a lot more involved with this one, too. After a couple seconds, Naruto pulled back. After he finished the song...well, he'd move the party inside, then.

At this point, Tsunami would probably let him.

"And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest?  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best"

As they kissed yet again, the Kage Bunshin scout at the bridge burst itself, delivering all of its knowledge of what was happening to Naruto.

'GODDAMNIT! I WAS THIS CLOSE!!!! Damn you Sasuke, for sucking so goddamn much!'

With a sigh, Naruto pulled away.

"Sorry, love, but duty calls. I have a bridge to protect."

The Kage Bunshin kept the music up as he said this.

"But I'll be back..."

And with that, Naruto left. Tsunami stood on the pier, staring at him as he leapt away.

'Damn! This close! I was this close to finally getting some action! Damn you, Gatoh! You keep on distracting away all the good looking men!'

Author's Notes: A short one, but it was a scene alluded to in other songs, so it had to be done sometime : ).

Comments, Criticisms, Song Ideas/Scene Ideas … all are welcome. Review!


	16. Chapter 16

"This time...the Kyuubi will not escape me! This time, I will catch him!"

"That's what you said the last 3 times, Itachi...and each time he made a fool out of you."

"Silence, Kisame. I have a foolproof plan, now that he is back in Konoha..."

"...You mind if I bring my lawn chair again? It's at least better than sitting on the ground to watch the show."

Indeed, the encounters between Naruto and Itachi were rather numerous, and ended in decisive victories for Naruto every time. Itachi, after the first encounter, was determined to prove that he could best Naruto in his own game, and Naruto took that as a personal challenge against his own skills. This lead to some rather hilarious interactions.

It all started out when Itachi and Kisame went to capture Naruto on his way over to find Tsunade and make her Hokage. This time, instead of being in a hotel room, Naruto was out on the streets, practicing his break dancing for the entertainment of some townsfolk.

When Itachi made several comments about capturing Naruto, he (Itachi) was surprised at the reaction of the onlookers.

"Oooh, it's on! It's on now! Someone's gonna get served!"

And when the music played, and Itachi found himself in a dance-off with Naruto...he was shocked. Especially with how everyone was laughing at him. No one EVER laughed at Itachi, and got away with it. Until, that is, he was served by Naruto.

"Looks like there's something your almighty eyes can't win for ya."

And that's what sealed the deal, and had Itachi determined to win. When it's on with an Uchiha, it's the other guy who gets served, damnit!

The numerous later attempts were all...unique...in their own right, too.

"Come on baby let's do the twist  
Come on baby let's do the twist  
Take me by my little hand and go like this  
Ee-oh twist baby baby twist  
Oooh-yeah just like this  
Come on little miss and do the twist"

Kisame had no clue how Naruto managed to get Itachi to do THAT dance...but after Naruto took a few pictures, Itachi fled the scene.

"To the left, that it back now ya'll  
2 hops 2 hops, 2 hops 2 hops  
Right foot let's stomp, left foot let's stomp  
Charlie Brown, hop it out now  
Slide to the right, slide to the left  
Take it back now ya'll  
Cha Cha now ya'll"

Itachi was defeated rather easily here...The whole song he was off rhythm, and just lost it when they reached 'Charlie Brown'. What the fuck is the Charlie Brown, anyway? And Itachi's attempts at 'cha cha'-ing, too, were enormously hilarious.

"Itachi went down to Konoha; he was looking for a biju to steal.  
He was in a bind 'cos he was way behind: he was willin' to make a deal."

...Yeah, that one was weird. Needless to say, Itachi lost there, too. Though it took Kisame a while to stop asking where he managed to scrounge up the golden ramen bowl he was forced to give to Naruto for losing that one.

So now, Itachi decided that he needed some REAL back up, as Kisame never helped him in these contests. He was too busy laughing, talking with that Tayuya girl...and whenever Jiraiya made it on the scene, they both had to flee.

But now...Itachi had an idea. If one Uchiha was as powerful as he was...Naruto stood no chance against multiple.

And then HE would be the one who was 'served'.

1234567890

"Damnit, Naruto, you know I don't like scary movies...why do you keep on tricking me into seeing them?"

"Aww, Tayuya, don't be like that! I thought you were the big, bad kunoichi...and you can't take a little zombie flick?"

"Well, you owe me one. I want the usual. And a good song this time!"

"...you know we got word that Itachi was coming around Konoha soon...Do ya really want to wander around Konoha at midnight just so he can ruin it? I mean, we're already right by the Uchiha district...selfish bastards used to horde the best movie theater in town!"

At this point Naruto sensed Itachi's presence...only he and Sasuke managed to ooze such a sense of self-satisfaction, though Itachi hid it better. Naruto also felt Itachi's chakra flare, and he felt numerous other chakra's appearing. This probably was what was bothering Tayuya, because they didn't feel like Bunshins of any sort, unless there was some kind of Rotting Bunshin no Jutsu.

So Naruto, while Tayuya was distracted with her ranting, formed a bunshin to go and scout. When it relayed its report...Naruto knew what he had to do.

"Fine, babe, I'll give ya a song."

And the music started, along with a howling wolf.

"It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark  
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart  
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it  
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes,  
You're paralyzed"

'Damnit, he sensed me! With lyrics like that, he had to know. But does he know what I've done? Does he know just how screwed he is?'

Naruto was dancing around Tayuya as he sang, teasing her with goofy dance moves, making her laugh.

"'Cause this is thriller, thriller night  
And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike  
You know it's thriller, thriller night  
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight"

Kisame had set up his lawn chair right outside, along the road, not even trying to hide himself. He figured Naruto would have to be an idiot not to have sensed Itachi's jutsu, so he might as well get the best seat possible now for Itachi's forthcoming humiliation. Because it ALWAYS ended like that, and Kisame found a frustrated Itachi to rank up there in his "Top Ten Funniest Things" list. Listening to one of the world's most feared missing-nin whine and cry like a little bitch always made him feel better.

And so Naruto and Tayuya continued walking, and dancing, right up past the Uchiha cemetery.

"You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run  
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun  
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination  
But all the while you hear the creature creepin' up behind  
You're out of time"

Naruto, unfortunately, was facing Tayuya as they rounded the corner. When Tayuya waved at Kisame, and then groaned into her hand, he turned around.

He saw two things.

First, he saw Kisame waving back.

Then, he saw Itachi...with a mob of zombie Uchiha behind him.

Seriously, the man filled up that graveyard...he should have the decency not to empty it.

"Naruto, you may have been able to defeat me...but now I have an army of Uchiha. Can you defeat THAT?"

It was a modified Edo Tensai that Itachi had copied off of Orochimaru years ago. It wasn't as effective, and lasted for only a very short time...but it was able to be used on large numbers with only a small increase in chakra consumption. It essentially just made an army of shambling zombies.

And Itachi looked so proud of himself, too.

'No one can defeat this many Uchihas...'

But Naruto just continued his song, in front of the army of Uchiha.

"'Cause this is thriller, thriller night  
There ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes  
You know it's thriller, thriller night  
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

Night creatures call  
And the dead start to walk in their masquerade  
There's no escapin' the jaws of the alien this time, they're open wide  
This is the end of your life"

Naruto had left Tayuya behind, and began dancing his way towards the zombie horde. He danced through them, knocking them around as he went. 

'He's mocking me again! He always does this! I hate it!'

Indeed, Naruto was taunting Itachi as he went, letting the zombies nearly attack him (and they were slow, even for zombie standards), in time to the song.

"They're out to get you, there's demons closing in on every side  
They will possess you unless you change the number on your dial  
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together  
All thru the night I'll save you from the terrors on the screen,  
I'll make you see"

The Uchiha Zombies had Naruto surrounded at this point. Naruto put on an expression of mock-horror, though Itachi, in his inner gloating, took it to be the real thing. As the Zombies closed in, Itachi took a second to glance over at Tayuya to see her reaction...only to notice she was chatting away with Kisame.

"Kisame, stop fraternizing with the enemy! Be useful for once."

At this point, Itachi looked back...and saw that Naruto had somehow changed into a zombie himself. Although it was only make-up (as Naruto found that Itachi easily saw through henge), it had been applied rather speedily by numerous Kage Bunshin, and looked rather realistic.

'Yes! I've finally won!'

But just as Itachi was going to shout out that it was Naruto who had been served, Naruto continued singing.

"That it's a thriller, thriller night  
'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would dare to try  
Girl, this is thriller, thriller night  
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, diller, chiller,  
Thriller here tonight"

'What? He can still sing? Zombies can't sing, can they? How the hell did he get turned into a zombie, anyway...Ah, well, just need to force the zombies to attack again, and put him down for good.

But they weren't responding. Naruto, utilizing a TON of chakra strings, with Kage Bunshin backing him up with even more, had all the zombies under his control. They were mostly brainless, anyway, and didn't resist all that much.

And then they all began to dance.

A spooky voice started speaking from right behind Itachi, to match the odd dance.

"Darkness falls across the land  
The midnight hour is close at hand  
Creatures crawl in search of blood  
To terrorize y'awl's neighborhood  
And whosoever shall be found  
Without the soul for getting down  
Must stand and face the hounds of hell  
And rot inside a corpse's shell  
The foulest stench is in the air  
The funk of forty thousand years  
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb  
Are closing in to seal your doom  
And though you fight to stay alive  
Your body starts to shiver  
For no mere mortal can resist  
The evil of the thriller"

And the Uchiha Zombies, lead by Zombie Naruto began to dance at Itachi. He began to worry, as not even he could kill this many Uchiha (and Itachi knew exactly how many Uchiha he could handle. He had experience in killing them off, thank you very much).

Oddly, Itachi never thought that Zombies would be easy kills, seeing as all they could do was oddly shuffle about, and swing fists. No, all Itachi thought was that they were Uchihas, and therefore dangerous foes. There was no such thing as a weak Uchiha, in his mind...even dead ones.

So he was terrified when a veritable army of Uchiha, lead by a seemingly dead Naruto, began to crab-walk at him.

"Come, Kisame! We must flee!"

"...you sure? I think we can handle them."

"Fool! No one could defeat that many Uchiha! NO ONE!"

And with that, he teleported away. Kisame sighed, waved a farewell, and followed.

Naruto used his chakra strings to put the zombies back in their graves, and with Itachi gone, the chakra that was animating them disappeared.

The ANBU who had been watching the scene all applauded...it was a wonderful show.

Tayuya walked over to Naruto, and began wiping the make-up off his face.

"So, was that a good enough song for ya?"

Author's Notes: The Song-"Thriller", by Michael Jackson. It also has lines from "The Twist" (Chubby Checker), the "Cha Cha Slide" (DJ Casper), and "Devil Went Down To Georgia" (Charlie Daniels).

Well, Thriller was a long time in coming. It just took a lot of doing to get it right.

Comments? Criticisms? Song Ideas/Scene Ideas? Leave Reviews!


	17. Chapter 17

"Goddamn Akatsuki kidnapping Gaara...Now we have to chase them down through this fucking desert!"

Naruto was not pleased with the situation. He had come back from his 'training trip', and soon sent off on a mission to rescue the Kazekage. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi had made it just in time to save Kankurou, and start the chase for Gaara. Sasuke had been left behind for...medical reasons. He was being evaluated in the psych ward at the moment.

However, this time Team Gai had caught up with Team Kakashi in Sunagakure, and they split off in different groups in search of Gaara.

Akatsuki had also sent out different nin to intercept them.

"Calm, Uzumaki. We were lucky to get the route with the road, at least. Better than running on the sand."

Neji and Naruto, Gai and Lee and Tenten, and Kakashi and Sakura. So an additional ninja was sent out to intercept Neji and Naruto.

"Yeah, but good stuff never happens when hitchhiking down long and 'lonesome roads...especially not in the desert."

And then a seeming mirage appeared, shining in the middle of the road.

"What the hell is that? Some kind of demon?"

"And why is it so shiny?"

Sasori had been happy he drew the Kyuubi's team. He had yet to meet the Jinchuriki, and wanted to see this 'living example of art' that Deidara talked about.

Knowing what kind of art Naruto excelled at, Sasori decided to test him.

"Play the best song in the world, or I'll turn you into a soulless puppet."

Naruto looked over at Neji. Neji looked back.

And they each said, "Ok."

Naruto used Kage Bunshin, only making two. He had them both henge into guitars, and gave Neji one.

And they just starting playing, strumming out the first things that came to their heads.

'Good God, it's amazing! That might be the best guitar playing I've ever heard in my life! How did they practice this, when I know that these two haven't seen each other in two years?'

In actuality, they were just doing the equivalent of a modern day jam session. Naruto had decided on just giving Neji a guitar, and following whatever he did. Since they didn't have any time to plan anything, everything was pretty much made up on the spot.

Naruto had figured that Neji could play the guitar, as Neji was always going on about how much of a genius he was. Luckily, Neji apparently did know what he was doing...a little.

But it was enough to impress Sasori, a man who had never really listened much to music in his life...distractions while making puppets were never good.

Naruto then began making up lyrics, spouting gibberish to go along with the random rocking out.

"Look into my eyes and it's easy to see  
One and one make two, two and one make three,  
It was destiny.  
Once every hundred-thousand years or so,  
When the sun doth shine and the moon doth glow  
And the grass doth grow..."

Needless to say, Sasori was stunned. 

'That... that... that didn't make any sense at all. Or did it? It sounded like it might have meant something deep...but I'm not sure. I'm not sure if that was pure genius or if he just made that up on the spot...'

Regardless of where the lyrics came from, they gave Sasori pause. Maybe Deidara had been right, and the Kyuubi-vessel WAS a real artist.

"Be You Artists?"

As Neji began to reply to the affirmative, Naruto interrupted, "Nay, we are but men! Rock!"

'...What? Yeah, this isn't making any sense at all.'

He needed time to think about this.

So with a whip-crack of his Scorpion tail, Sasori was gone.

12345678910

"I swear, it was the greatest song in the world!"

"Yeah, Naruto? Well how does the whole song go, then?"

"...I can't actually remember. But it WAS so awesome! Tell them, Neji!"

"Indeed, it was a work of genius. But, well, it was so spur-of-the-moment, I don't think I could play it again."

"It was the best muthafuckin' song, the greatest song in the world!"

"...Wait, if you don't think you could play it again, what have you been playing for the last two minutes?"

"...A tribute."

Author's Notes: The Song- "Tribute", by Tenacious D.

This chapter was done in a completely different format then all the previous ones, as the lyrics often made more sense in other places, then, well, Naruto singing them. They fit into descriptions, what other people were saying, and such.

Basically, it was telling the story that "Tribute" tells.

Also, the last single-song chapter of this story was reached (it'll be chapter 20). However, I was given an idea for a big finale, a way to end it with a bang.

Chapter 21 is going to be the Naruto Musical.

Comments? Criticisms? Leave reviews!


	18. Chapter 18

"Itachi went down to Konoha; he was looking for a biju to steal.  
He was in a bind 'cos he was way behind: he was willin' to make a deal."

Well, it technically wasn't Konoha, but it WAS in Fire Country. Naruto was between concerts, traveling from Suna to Kumo. Itachi and Kisame had caught up to him while he, Tayuya, and Jiraiya were traveling through the woods.

"When he came across a jinchuriki sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot.  
And Itachi jumped upon a hickory stump and said: "Boy let me tell you what:  
"I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too.  
"And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.  
"Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the Uchiha his due:  
"I bet a Ramen-bowl of gold against Kyuubi, 'cos I think I'm better than you."  
The boy said: "My name's Naruto and it might be a sin,  
"But I'll take your bet, your gonna regret, 'cos I'm the best that's ever been.""

Naruto, at the insistence of Tayuya, had tried his hand at various instruments. Sure, he could rock out on the guitar, but Tayuya wanted to see if he could branch out. Naruto had been a failure on her flute, and most other wind instruments they tried, but he did a lot better with strings.

Only by sheer irony did Itachi manage to find them as he was playing a violin.

And only be even greater irony was it that Itachi happened to have been forced by his parents to learn how to play the violin at a young age.

He IS Asian, after all.

So, Itachi took this as an opportunity to try to finally defeat the Kyuubi.

"Naruto you rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard.  
'Cos hells broke loose in Konoha and Itachi deals it hard.  
And if you win you get this shiny Bowl made of gold.  
But if you lose, the devil gets the fox's soul."

Itachi pulled out his violin case (why he carried it around on him, no one questioned), ready to do battle.

Kisame, Jiraiya, and Tayuya were off to the side, sitting and watching. Jiraiya had sealed some comfy fold-out chairs into a scroll, and Tayuya was heating up some popcorn.

"Itachi opened up his case and he said: "I'll start this show."  
And fire flew from his eyes as he resined up his bow.  
And he pulled the bow across his strings and it made an evil hiss.  
Then a band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this."

Naruto thought using Amaterasu just for pyrotechnic effect was going a little bit overboard. So was using that demon genjutsu. Naruto liked to consider himself knowledgeable about demons, and whatever it was that Itachi dreamt up certainly didn't look like any demons he'd ever heard of.

Itachi smirked, very pleased with himself. 'They'll never know how lucky they were that I just used a genjutsu of the dreaded 'Yaoi Fangirl' Incubus, instead of summoning the real thing! Though I doubt even I could withstand the terrible, terrible might of such a being.'

"When the Uchiha finished, Naruto said: "Well you're pretty good ol' son.  
"But if you'll sit down in that chair, right there, and let me show you how its done.""

This was always the best part, when Naruto showed Itachi up. Or so the observers thought.

"Fire on the moun, run boys, run.  
Itachi's in the house of the risin' sun.  
Chicken in the bread pin, pickin' out dough.  
"Granny, does your dog bite?"  
"No, child, no."

...what?

Kisame, Jiraiya, and Tayuya all looked stunned.

That...made no sense. And Itachi's piece clearly sounded better. He even had flames coming out his eyes and a demonic chorus!

Naruto? His was just...weird.

Kisame had stood up, to congratulate Itachi on finally defeating Naruto at his own game. He was getting ready to swoop over to the jinchuriki and make a break with him...

"Itachi bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat.  
He laid that golden Ramen Bowl on the ground at Naruto's feet.

...And then he sat back down, hanging his head in shame.

Tayuya and Jiraiya just sat there, jaws dropped. Itachi clearly played better...and he gave up?

Naruto said: "Itachi just come on back if you ever want to try again.  
"I told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been.""

And with that, Itachi signaled over to Kisame to leave.

"Oi, Jiraiya...you mind if I keep this chair? I might as well carry around my own, if this kind of thing happens a lot."

"Sure...I just want to know what the hell just happened."

As Kisame and Itachi shunshined away, Tayuya walked over to Naruto.

"So, babe, what did ya think? I kicked his ass, didn't I?"

"..."

Author's Notes: The Song- "Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniel's Band.

For those of you who were confused, go listen to the song on youtube. The basis of the song is that the devil goes and challenges this kid Johnny to a fiddle-off, where if the kid wins, he gets a fiddle made of gold, and if the devil wins, he gets his soul.

The Devil plays a CLEARLY better solo then Johnny, yet still manages to lose (which makes no sense, as he's the devil…isn't he supposed to not keep deals and stuff, anyway?).

This chapter was greatly inspired by this- http:// www. mcsweeneys. net /2005/8/16moe. html (take out the spaces).

I have been informed, though, of why Johnny (and thus Naruto) wins the match. Apparently, playing kick-ass rock music on a violin isn't as important as keeping the 'Soul of the Mountain Music', which Johnny did.

Comments? Criticisms? Leave reviews!


	19. Chapter 19

It was bound to happen eventually.

Naruto, out on a mission with some of the other former Rookies, got kidnapped in his sleep.

To insure cooperation, the kidnappers also took the person in the next sleeping bag over.

Thus, when Naruto and Ino awoke, out in the middle of nowhere, all tied up, they were understandably confused. 

It seemed that Akatsuki had finally caught Naruto...and one of them seemed to be holding some kind of religious service?

"Hidan, we don't have time for this. Yes, I know you're sorry that you weren't allowed to kill them, but we need them alive! We get paid so much more if they're alive, especially since he wasn't even our target to begin with!"

"Fine, fine, I was done anyway. Why haven't we kept on moving, anyway? Hell, they've even woke up now!"

"...Because, Hidan, I need to verify something for myself."

It was at this point that Naruto spoke up, "If you're after me, why the fuck did ya take Ino too?"

"Insurance, kid, any smart man take's out insurance to insure that he doesn't lose his money. She's here to make sure that you don't try to run."

It was early morning, the sun barely beginning to rise. Naruto had by now verified who these guys were. The only things he knew about them was that Hidan couldn't die, and that Kakuzu had some REALLY old records with bounty hunting.

Ino was freaked out, though kept her mouth shut. She had no clue what was going on, who these guys were, or what they wanted with Naruto. She just hoped to God that Naruto had some kind of plan, because she had none.

"Run? You got me tied up pretty well here, old man. How am I supposed to run?"

"It's funny that you call me 'old man'...I happen to be a great older than most even suspect. And imagine my surprise when I heard that there was some kid running around singing some VERY classic music...stuff I haven't heard in forever.

"Than when the Boss tells me that you're one of the very people we were hunting...well, that made me happy. I get to be paid twice for doing one job!"

"So, what's the deal here? You want me to sing to ya or something?'

"You sing something, anything, from your collection, and I let this little girl here go. Than we take you to the Boss."

"Anything, eh? And you'll let her go?"

"Kakuzu, you're the one whose always rushing me, and now you want to waste time with this boy singing? Let's just kill the girl and take him with us!"

"Hidan, you just sit around mumbling and stabbing yourself. This kid is gonna put on a performance the likes of which I haven't seen in forever. Just watch the girl if you can't appreciate the music. And we don't kill the girl because he'll perform better with some kind of motivation. THEN we take him to the Boss."

"...The Boss, eh? Ok, I got you a good song."

Kakuzu stood up, untied Naruto, and walked to the side, leaving Ino over with Hidan.

"I'm going to need to use some jutsus, so don't freak out."

And with that, Naruto created a couple Kage bunshin, and began the music...a rock drum-and-guitar beat.

"In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway Konoha dream  
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines  
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,  
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected  
and steppin' out over the line  
Baby this town rips the bones from your back  
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap  
We gotta get out while we're young  
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run"

At first, Kakuzu had begun to smile. The kid had a sense of humor, picking a tune by "The Boss" himself. But then his smile started to fade, as he remembered how this song exactly went.

As Naruto got halfway through, and one of his Bunshins henged into a motorcycle, he started to stand up.

When Naruto jumped onto the motorcycle, and started driving, he began to move.

But it was too late. Naruto drove straight at Hidan. Hidan, freaked out with no clue what on earth the bike was, dived to the side.

Naruto swept up Ino, cut her ropes, and placed her behind him on the bike, all in one move.

Luckily, Hidan and Kakuzu had chosen to stop in a field, figuring that even if Naruto had escaped, he would have nowhere to hide. This made it easy for Naruto to ride off, but it also made it easy for them to give chase.

And as he rode, he continued to sing, to the terrified Ino, in an effort to calm her down. And to also to get her to sit right on the bike-bunshin.

"Ino let me in I wanna be your friend  
I want to guard your dreams and visions  
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims  
and strap your hands across my engines  
Together we could run from this trap  
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back  
Will you walk with me out on the wire  
'Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider  
But I gotta find out how it feels  
I want to know if love is wild  
girl I want to know if love is real"

Ino could feel herself calming down, a little. If Naruto could keep on singing to her, as two dangerous nin were chasing them down in the middle of nowhere, its gotta still be ok.

And with all the noise his engine made, someone was bound to find them, especially if a team was sent to look for them.

Kakuzu was cursing himself. He should have seen this coming. But for a chance at a live performance of music that he hadn't heard since before the hidden villages formed...he was willing to risk it.

And at least the kid was still singing.

But damn, his motorcycle (which he also recognized, and wondered why he had never thought of marketing the things himself...he planned on calling his accountant as soon as possible to see the possibility of making a line of bikes himself) was fast.

Hidan was just wishing that he could kill the brat and be done with it...at least he was allowed to kill the girl. If he managed to catch up.

Naruto and Ino managed to reach a nearby highway, and began really gunning it.

And Naruto kept on singing.

"Beyond the Field hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard  
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors  
And the boys try to look so hard  
The amusement park rises bold and stark  
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist  
I wanna die with you Ino on the streets tonight  
In an everlasting kiss"

'I could get really used to traveling like this,' Ino thought. Hair streaming out behind her, holding tight to Naruto, with the wind streaming all around them. It was exhilarating. And she REALLY liked the lines Naruto was singing.

Hidan was really pissed. They had the goddamn jinchuriki tied up and knocked out, and then Kakuzu lets him wake up and UNTIES HIM!!!! For Jashin's sake, he never realized his partner was that much of an idiot.

And that..._thing_...he was riding was a pain in the ass to keep up with, and made way too much noise.

Kakuzu was just thinking about all the money he wasn't going to make if the kid managed to get away.

And then the rescuers appeared. The rest of Team 10, along with Kakashi, Jiraiya and several other 'Rookies', attracted by the noise of the motorcycle, had made a run for the road. They were just a little bit further down from Naruto, Ino, and their pursuers.

And Naruto continued to sing.

"The highway's jammed with fellow ninjas on a last chance power drive  
Everybody's out on the run tonight  
but there's no place left to hide  
Together Ino we'll live with the sadness  
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul  
Someday girl I don't know when  
we're gonna get to that place  
Where we really want to go  
and we'll walk in the sun  
But till then tramps like us  
baby we were born to run"

Kakuzu and Hidan saw the newly arrived Konoha-nin.

The ninja saw Kakuzu and Hidan.

Naruto and Ino just drove on through them, in the direction of Konoha.

Kakuzu slowed down to a stop, Hidan following.

"It wouldn't be profitable to continue the chase now...they have too much backup."

And with that, Kakuzu disappeared, with Hidan following shortly after.

Kakuzu may have lost the jinchuriki, but at least he had a new idea (motorcycles) to make a profit from.

Hidan was just pissed that not only did he not manage to kill anyone, but the brat he DID catch got away.

And Sakura was pissed that it was Ino who got to ride on the bike with Naruto like that, off into the sunrise.

Author's Notes: The Song- "Born To Run", by Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen.

This snippet was written completely because I had realized that I didn't have a Springsteen song done yet. It took a lot of brainstorming, and this was the result. Not perfect… But it's the best I could do.

The next chapter is also the last one, before I do the finale musical. It's actually a scene that I had mentioned in other scenes, so it had to be done before I could finish.

Comments? Criticisms? Leave Reviews!


	20. Chapter 20

'God, even my chakra control isn't that bad!'

It was twilight, and Sasuke and Naruto were still out in the woods trying to master the tree climbing exercise.

Well, Sasuke was. Naruto was just faking it...gotta stay in character and all.

He had figured that Sasuke would have gotten it by now, and left-allowing Naruto some privacy to train where no one would hear him.

After finally seeing Sasuke get to the top, Naruto rushed up following him (Hell, he had been doing this since he was 10! Chakra control was very important for sound-manipulating jutsus).

After returning to Tsunami's and eating, Naruto went back out to 'get it perfect.'

After a while, Naruto, exhausted, just fell asleep out in the woods.

And when he awoke...

"Woah, Momma! What's your name?"

"I'm Haku...please to meet you."

'Hot damn! She's way prettier than any girl my age I've seen around the village!'

So the conversation went, about precious people and whatnot, until Haku decided it was time to leave.

"And, you know...I'm a boy."

As Haku turned to leave, expecting a stunned silence, she was shocked to here, "Bullshit. There is absolutely no way you're a boy."

That'd never happened before.

Most people just believed her when she said it...or if they doubted, they kept it to themselves.

"Excuse me?"

"You can see it in the way you walk, in the way you talk, and in your lack of an Adam's Apple. You're no more a boy then I'm a horse."

"...I see."

"You are, however, one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen."

'Oh God, Oh God, don't blush, don't-no, I'm blushing. That's just going to encourage him. Wait...where's that music coming from?'

Naruto took her moment of thought to subtly create some Kage Bunshins, and had them start making some slow guitar music.

As it grew louder and louder, Naruto walked closer to Haku, who was clearly nervous.

"And I know how to treat beautiful women."

And with that, Naruto began to sing.

"Wise men say only fools rush in  
But I cant help falling in love with you"

As Naruto walked forward, Haku walked backwards. She was also blushing, badly.

'This is why I wear that mask! How is one supposed to handle this?'

Well, ya can't, really...if you spend your life traveling around with a male missing-nin. Ya don't get that much human interaction that way.

And Naruto continued.

"Shall I stay  
Would it be a sin  
If I cant help falling in love with you"

Haku had backed up into a tree at this point, and was too panicked to realize that she could move around it.

Naruto reached out, and stroked her cheek. He smiled at her, and, noting how incredibly nervous she looked, turned around and walked the other way a little.

He continued to sing.

"Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be"

Haku sighed a bit, and regained her composure a bit.

'Get a hold of yourself! You're a strong, independent kunoichi! You can control the situation! Don't let the words of this boy get to you.

And just as she was about to interject, and try to stop the singing, Naruto turned back to her, and continued.

"Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I cant help falling in love with you"

And the blush was back!

Naruto took her hand, and kissed it. Haku's blush deepened.

All thoughts of making him stop singing fled her head.

She had never had to deal with interested men...most people she interacted with thought she was just an unusually effeminate boy. And Zabuza had the good sense to keep her away from the types that LIKED unusually effeminate little boys.

Haku thanked God daily that Zabuza had turned down Orochimaru's offer to join Sound.

And then her thoughts were brought back to the boy in front of her, as he continued to sing.

"Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I cant help falling in love with you  
For I cant help falling in love with you"

'I...I just can't deal with this. I've never wished, until now, that I had undergone courtesan training. At least I'd be able to handle this! What the heck am I supposed to do?'

So, she did the only thing she could do: Run.

She had at least kept enough composure to remember that she couldn't use any of her jutsus, as that would tip her hand too early.

As for Naruto...he was inwardly cheering his success in proving that girls DID love a man who could sing, while groaning about how quickly she had fled.

Ah well...there'd always be next time.

Author's Notes: The song- "I can't help falling in love with you", by Elvis.

Well, this is the last chapter for the story… the musical, whenever I get around to completing it, will be posted separately.

This was the first story I ever attempted (and it's been done for quite a while… just hadn't gotten around to posting it here), and though it's basic premise is a story type I hate (karaoke fics), I think I turned it into something more interesting then usual.

Thanks for reading : ).

Comments? Criticisms? Leave Reviews!


End file.
